ILIGAN CITY (PIA) – For the first time in history, the Mindanao State University – Iligan Institute of Technology produced 1,559 latin honorees and perhaps the highest number among top universities in the country.

“For this 52nd ceremony for our class of 2022, this is actually our full first face-to-face ceremony. What is actually historic about this graduation is the number of Latin honors. Around 80% of our undergraduate candidates for graduation are actually Latin honorees,” said Alizedney Ditucalan, MSU-IIT chancellor.

The Class of 2022 yielded 52 summa cum laudes, 689 magna cum laudes, and 818 cum laudes.

Ditucalan that the Latin honorees were consistent in excelling in their academics before the pandemic.

Moreover, the Institute also adopted a new policy allowing graduating students to wear under their academic gown their preferred choice of clothes, especially the ones that align with their gender identity.

“This is to allow the members of the LGBTQ+ to wear to be able to proud in wearing their dress code according to their gender preference and identity,” Ditucalan said.

The College of Arts and Social Sciences also produced the first batch of graduates for its new programs such as Bachelor of Science Philosophy in Applied Ethics and Bachelor of Arts in English Language Studies. (LELA/PIA-10-Lanao del Norte)