Alumni Corner
This is where UP High School Iloilo alumni can share their stories, catch up with old friends, and relive memories from their time on campus. Read what your fellow classmates have been up to or add your own experiences! Every story helps keep our community strong and connected.
Rekindling Ties After 25 Years
We entered UPHSI in 1996 as what would later be known as the Millennium Class. Early in our high school years, we found ourselves actively participating in several protest movements, including opposition to the local government’s proposal—eventually withdrawn—to revert the UPV City Campus to its former function as Iloilo City Hall, as well as demonstrations related to the corruption scandal involving then President Joseph Estrada. These experiences unfolded alongside broader societal developments that shaped our formative years: the transition to the year 2000 amid concerns over the Y2K Bug, the early integration of the internet into education in Iloilo City, and rapid advances in communication technologies, from pagers to mobile phones.
Our batch was considered pioneering in two key institutional initiatives. First, we marked the launch of UPHSI’s stronger commitment to science education through the establishment of its first Special Science Class (SSC). This program was championed by Prof. Evelyn Baylocon, who later became principal and also served as our math instructor. Second, under the administration of Prof. Zenaida Buenaflor, UPHSI prioritized the admission of dependents of UPV personnel, shaping the composition of the student body during our time. As a result, our academic development was closely monitored, particularly through efforts to enhance SSC students’ competencies via additional coursework, while avoiding significant academic disparities between the SSC and the regular classes.
Despite these intentions, the structure of the SSC created practical divisions within our batch. SSC students were dismissed an hour later than their peers, which limited regular interaction outside class hours. Moreover, while students from the regular classes could transfer between sections, the SSC experienced attrition without inward migration. Over time, this led to differing social dynamics: students from the regular classes developed broader peer networks, while the SSC remained comparatively insular.
From the outset, we recognized that this long‑standing divide between the regular classes and the SSC would pose the greatest challenge in bringing together the entire Class of 2000 for the preparations for Goldies Day 2025. Many of us were already managing family responsibilities or holding professional and managerial roles, which limited participation. Initial invitations to class meetings, even virtual ones, were poorly attended. Nevertheless, a small core group persisted in organizing the event, with responsibilities shared flexibly and equitably, including contributions from classmates based overseas.
As planning continued, participation gradually increased. As hoped, attendance during the actual event exceeded initial expectations. Goldies Day 2025 proved to be a success not only as a homecoming of alumni across generations, but more significantly as the first time in 25 years that Class 2000 came together as one. The activities encouraged interaction and created long‑overdue opportunities for social engagement. For the first time since we left the doors of UPHSI, we gathered again to play music, trade high school jokes and banter, and share 25 years’ worth of life stories—stories that unfolded along different paths and in different places, yet ultimately led us back to the same shared laughter, memories, and sense of belonging. In doing so, we reaffirmed the lasting significance of our shared beginnings at UPHSI. (Written by Donabel Mae Parcon-Navarro)
Let’s Bleed Gold on Goldies Day 2026!
The Silver Jubilarian Class of 2001 will be spearheading the upcoming Goldies Day on July 25, 2026. This year’s alumni celebration is anchored on the theme, “Let’s Bleed Gold!” which aims to unite all alumni, students and faculty under one golden color and showcase their pride as Goldies. This celebration also aspires to generate donations and income for the benefit of UP High School in Iloilo and provide a meaningful and jovial atmosphere where everyone can meet old friends and new.
The host Class of 2001 has been an active member of the alumni community contributing to various causes since 2018. It has initially donated 70,000 to UPHSI and answered calls to support the students in various events. The class also answered the call for laptop donations by IAMUPHI during the COVID-19 pandemic. One of the milestones of the class is contributing to the Adopt-a-Room Project of the university and donated 150,000.00 for the renovation of NB5 in UPHSI. This year, the class is eager and very enthusiastic to lead the upcoming alumni celebration along with other jubilarians, lining up activities leading to Goldies Day.
Funds were generated during their first successful fundraising activity which was a block screening of the movie Avatar last December 2025. Among the activities lined up are a blood-letting activity and medical mission in February and March 2026, as well as a fun run in collaboration with the UPHSI PTA and BTS Iloilo which will happen in April 2026. The class is also planning to collaborate with UPHSI student organizations for their Pahampang and other organizations for some sports activities to be participated by both alumni and students.
Strong and committed, the Class of 2001 aim to encourage alumni participation by planning a Goldies Day that will not only make everyone reminisce the best of their high school lives, but also give them an exciting and fun celebration that they will be looking forward to and have a hard time to forget. Let’s Bleed Gold! (Written by Sheralyn Peñascoza)
UPV High School Class of 1986
40th Homecoming Reunion
Forty years ago, we walked the halls of UPV High School as young students, shaped by the spirit and events of the early 1980s. The world then was changing fast—politically, socially, and culturally—but nowhere was that change more deeply felt than in the Philippines.
In 1986, our country stood at a historic turning point. We lived through the closing years of dictatorship rule, heard stories of censorship and courage, and saw families quietly yearning for change. Then came the EDSA People Power Revolution—millions of Filipinos, armed not with weapons but with faith, music, prayers, and yellow ribbons, standing together for truth and democracy. Even as high school students, we sensed that the peaceful transition of power was bigger than any one of us. It showed us that unity, conscience, and moral courage could reshape a nation.
Inside UPV High School, those years from 1982 to 1986 were just as alive. The classrooms, corridors, canteens, and open spaces where we studied, laughed, and sometimes worried about exams became the backdrop of friendships that would span decades. We learned not only equations and grammar, but also discipline, respect, public service, and the value of speaking up kindly but firmly. UPVHS was our training ground—where homeroom sessions, school programs, clubs, and outreach activities quietly molded us into more aware and responsible citizens.
Reflections, Forty Years After 1986
Now, as we gather for our 40th Homecoming Reunion, we look back with gratitude and humility.
We do not need to single out “notable” individuals, because each one of us is remarkable in our own way. We have taken many different paths—some of us stayed close to home, others crossed oceans, some built careers in classrooms, offices, farms, hospitals, laboratories, and communities. We have raised families, served our country in quiet and visible ways, created opportunities for others, and faced life’s turning points with courage. We have known both success and disappointment, gain and loss. Yet throughout the seasons of our lives, the lessons and friendships from UPVHS have remained constant, shaping who we are and how we continue to make a difference, wherever we may be.
- We remember teachers who believed in us before we believed in ourselves.
- We remember classmates who stood by us in our most awkward and uncertain years.
- We remember how, in a time of national change, our school taught us to think critically, to care deeply, and to act with integrity.
Forty years on, we realize that our greatest achievements are not just the titles we carry, but the lives we touch, the families we raise, the communities we serve, and the honesty with which we try to live each day. Our story—as the UPVHS Class of 1986—is a story of resilience, faith, and shared hope.
A Message to the Younger Generation
To the students and young alumni who now walk the same halls we once did, know that you are growing up in a world that is faster, more connected, and more complex than the one we knew in 1986. Technology, information, and opportunities are at your fingertips—but so are distractions, pressures, and noise.
From our journey, we humbly offer these reminders:
Know your history.
Learn about 1986 and the many chapters before and after it. Understand what People Power meant, the cost of freedom, and the value of institutions and truth. Remember that the rights and freedoms you enjoy today were made possible by real people with real sacrifices.
Carry with you the call of our generation: “Never forget, never again.” Never forget – the abuses and lies that marked the darker periods of our history. Never again – allow deception or apathy to erase the hard-won gains of democracy. A clear sense of history will help you make wiser choices for the future.
Value integrity over convenience.
In school, at work, online, and in public life, it is easy to take shortcuts. Choose honesty, even when no one is watching. Your character is your most important credential.
Use your voice and your gifts for others.
Whether you are talented in science, arts, leadership, sports, or service— use your strengths not only for yourself, but to uplift those who have less. Real success is shared.
Stay grounded in compassion.
Behind every grade, every post, every title is a human being with a story. Be kind. Listen more. Respect differences. The Philippines we dream of is built on one act of kindness and fairness at a time.
Take care of your well-being.
It is okay to rest, to ask for help, to admit that you are struggling. Your mental, emotional, and spiritual health matter just as much as your achievements.
As you continue your own journey, remember that you walk on paths paved by generations before you—including a group of wide-eyed teenagers who graduated in 1986, during a time when hope won over fear. Remember that you are part of a long line of UPVHS students who tried, in their own imperfect ways, to live out these values.
From our hearts to yours, we pass on this legacy: Love your country. Honor your school. Take care of one another.
Marie Karen C. Jiz
UPV High School Class of 1986
#UPVHS86Reunited
