• What is a Sillimanian?

Being a Sillimanian extends to more than just studying in this university. It extends to more than just the academic prestige of the school as a Sillimanian refers to someone who not only strives to excel in their studies but in every aspect of their life as well. It encompasses all the avenues of learning as Silliman University does not just prepare one to work their 9-5’s, it prepares them for life.
A Sillimanian is geared towards their future by learning from their past and focusing on doing right by their present. This is why a Sillimanian is a person who has or is in the journey to develop themselves as a whole person. Even from the 5 C’s alone, we can see how the university puts emphasis on their students growing across all forms of learning. Whether it may be the Church, classroom, cultural center, court, or community, a Sillimanian should experience and explore their nature in all of these settings.
Resilient, compassionate, confident, humble, and amicable— these are just some words to describe their attitude. Nailing down one adjective for a Sillimanian would simply not do the title any justice as a Sillimanian will always be “all of the above.”

• What makes you a Sillimanian?

I like to think that what makes me a Sillimanian is my character and the teachings and values that I have learned from this university. Being exposed to the motivating influence that this school holds, I’ve found myself giving my all. It started with academics but started seeping into the other sides of my life.
I’d like to consider myself a Sillimanian because it was through my experiences in this university and the people that I have met here that I can say that I have finally found my footing in life. No longer looking down, wondering where I’m going—I can safely say that I finally have direction. What makes me a Sillimanian is that path that I’ve found myself on ever since studying here, and that’s becoming a better version of myself—fully and wholly.
What makes me a Sillimanian is the growth that I have experienced and will continue to experience in my time here. Learning to develop myself and being influenced by the positive and inspiring atmosphere that lies within this school and the people who reside in it. Academics are important of course but I have also learned not to shun away other avenues such as extracurriculars, relationships, and responsibilities as a whole.

• What is your view of the mental aspect of a man?

The mental aspect of a man encompasses a huge web of interconnected emotions and feelings that all string together to form our thoughts. What goes on in there can be affected by a multitude of factors such as our experiences that can affect our mood. From my perspective, we are all complicated in a way and we tend to experience feelings that we can’t exactly control. Sometimes rationality is thrown out the window in favor of pure emotion and how we handle those moments can either be detrimental or helpful for our mental state.
I believe that it is through sitting down and learning to understand our emotions and thoughts more that we can get to know our mental aspect more. Through that, we can be in control of our emotions rather than letting them dictate our every move. If we were just to lock them away and bottle up everything inside then we would simply be delaying the inevitable outburst of emotions rather than facing them head-on and finding their root cause.
Knowing one’s mental aspect is an integral part of development as it bleeds into other factors of our well-being such as our physical aspect. There’s no better person that should know themselves than you. One’s mental state and health can be a lot to consider but it can also lead to one being able to grow as they unravel themselves little by little. We may be complex, but we owe it to ourselves to try and understand ourselves more.