The West Visayas State University (WVSU) College of Education (COE) recognized its outstanding students, student leaders, and top-performing graduates during Papuri 2026, the college’s annual recognition program held June 2 at the WVSU Cultural Center.
The ceremony celebrated excellence in academics, leadership, and service, reflecting the College’s continuing commitment to developing future educators who excel both inside and outside the classroom. Graduates who earned top marks in the Licensure Examination for Professional Teachers (LEPT) were also recognized, underscoring COE’s strong tradition of producing high-performing teachers.
Awards were presented by College of Education Dean Dr. Ricky M. Magno and Office of Student Affairs Dean Dr. Ma. Pilar S. Malata, together with university and college officials.
Serving as guest speaker was Prof. Dr. Reynaldo Galido Segumpan, professor and former dean of the City Graduate School of the City University of Malaysia, who challenged awardees to use their achievements in the service of others and to make a meaningful difference in their future classrooms and communities.
“Awardees, you will have students who are frightened of failing; you will have colleagues who are on the edge of giving up. You will have communities that have been disappointed too many times to believe that help is coming. You will have children in your future classrooms who are one caring teacher away from a completely different life. Be the ‘hen’ for them. Not because it is glamorous, not because it earns you another award, but because this is how excellence lives beyond the ceremony,” Segumpan said.
Drawing from lessons illustrated through various animals, he emphasized the values of perseverance, collaboration, and compassion in the teaching profession.
“We have traveled through the animal kingdom today: the carabao, the honeybee, the ant, the elephant, the monarch butterfly, and the hen. In each of them, we have seen a truth about excellence that no textbook notes more clearly: no creature thrives alone. Every awardee in this room needs the people in this room,” he said.
Papuri 2026 served not only as a celebration of achievement but also as a reminder of the responsibility that comes with excellence as students prepare to serve future generations of learners.
