It has been gratifying to connect with you, our beloved alumni, even if these interactions have mostly been limited to screen-to-screen. To say that the past year has been challenging is an understatement—we have and are continuing to wrestle with a pandemic, economic difficulties, natural catastrophes, and political and social unrest. Yet, the past months have also shown what these challenges are not capable of, and that is to weaken our spirit. In the face of mounting trials and uncertainty, we tackle each problem with determination, courage, creativity, and grace. But most of all, we confront these trials together—as one Ateneo de Manila community.

So when I think back over this past year, I cannot help but be inspired by our collective strength and commitment. From our students, faculty and staff, to administrators and you, our dear alumni—your passion, generosity,faith, and engagement have helped us keep our educational mission going. Despite these painful moments, you have all chosen to look upon others with compassion, remaining gracious in everything, from finding ways to teach our students effectively to working together to ensure that our on-campus and off-site campus operations are not disrupted;all of these with no playbook. Our sense of community has shined brightly throughout this incredibly challenging year, and I hope that we can all acknowledge that and continue to look out for each other.

Allow me to share with you some of our latest activities in our fight against this global health challenge.

Last April, we partnered with the Philippine Red Cross and the Quezon City local government to provide an additional isolation facility for COVID-19 patients who are asymptomatic and are unable to isolate safely at home. We have converted the prefabricated building complex of the Ateneo Junior High School in the Loyola Heights campus with strict health, safety, and security protocols in place to ensure not just their safety but those of the people residing and working inside the campus.

We have also opened our Loyola Heights campus as a vaccination site for Quezon City residents. Since May, individuals residing in the city who fall under the A1-A3 categories have been able to get their COVID-19 vaccines at our Grade School cafeteria. Opening up more vaccination sites provides access for more individuals to get vaccinated, and we know that getting that jab is one of the most important tools we can have in this fight against the pandemic.

We have recently launched BlueSwab, the drive-through and walk-through swabbing facility of the Ateneo Molecular Pathology Laboratory (AMPLify) for COVID-19 testing. Located near Gate 2.5 of the Loyola Heights campus, this service is readily available to the public, and those who want to avail of the service can book an appointment online at blueswab.ateneo.edu. AMPLify is under the supervision of the Ateneo Research Institute of Science and Engineering (ARISE) of the School of Science and Engineering. BlueSwab is just one of our responses to the nation’s call for more diagnostic facilities to help ramp up testing capacity to help fight the pandemic and all other notifiable infectious diseases.

We’ve said from the beginning that the health and safety of our community is our primary goal. As such, we have started our University Vaccination Program to provide COVID-19 vaccines to eligible members of our community- from employees to University students and eligible dependents. We are grateful for the opportunity to offer vaccines to our community members. Getting vaccinated, after all, is indeed a critical step in our collective efforts to end this crisis.

Inspired by the generosity of our employees, the University has set up a Solidarity Fund to augment the funds of the programs that provide healthcare for employees and their dependents should they be afflicted with COVID-19.

And it is not just Ateneans who are still on the hill who are collaborating and sharing their time, talents, resources, and expertise. Since the start of the pandemic, you, our dear alumni, have been nothing short of amazing. You launched Tulong Sulong during the 2020 Grand Alumni Homecoming in hopes of helping transform marginalized communities affected by the pandemic. I know that the Ateneo Alumni Association and various alumni groups have partnered with Tanging Yaman Foundation and the Ateneo DReaM TEam to help multiple communities in these challenging times by distributing food and other necessities.

Time after time, we have shown what we can do as one community. It has been a challenging year. Yet, against all of these, I continue to be in awe of the sense of community I have witnessed this past year. This, I believe, has always been the case for our Ateneo de Manila community—with every generation of students, faculty, staff, administrators and alumni stepping up to make sure that the next generation of Ateneans can succeed.

Life may throw daunting challenges our way and in these times bereft of hope, may we find strength and comfort in each other and rely on God’s goodness and faithfulness.

Fr Bobby C Yap SJ

PRESIDENT, ATENEO DE MANILA UNIVERSITY