Laudable "laude" distinctions

Image from Forbes.com

TO MARCH wearing a toga, to go up the stage with the tassel on the mortar board being turned from one side to another, and to finally receive the diploma bearing your name and academic degree are undeniably the best moments in every college graduation. And graduating with a Latin honor is an icing on the cake.

My college graduation (the year is secret) has been a victorious one. Among the over 800 graduates of the UST Faculty of Arts and Letters, I was blessed to be one of the 103 graduates with a Cum Laude distinction (nine were Magna Cum Laude). But even before receiving the bronze-plated medal, I suddenly thought of what these three Latin honors: cum laude, magna cum laude, and summa cum laude mean.

My Cum Laude medal (left) and Miguel de Benavides Outstanding Award Medal (right)

Cum Laude is a Latin is used to indicate “a high level of academic distinction at the time of graduation.” Different universities around the world including the Philippines use this term to award students with excellent academic performance based on varying standards and requirements. Therefore, Cum Laude is translated to “with praise”; Magna Cum Laude for “with great praise”; and Summa Cum Laude for “with highest praise”.

Other universities have a fourth distinction, the Egregia Cum Laude (with outstanding honor), which is conferred to students with a very high graded average. But after it was sarcastically translated to “with hysterical praise”, the term Summa Cum Laude is used instead. There is also a fifth distinction, the Maxima Cum Laude (maximum praise) given to those who graduated with perfect grades in all subjects.  

To graduate with a Latin honor entails a lot of perseverance. Some would even spend their entire college life reading books or memorizing definitions and formulas to earn such distinction. While a laude title is laudable enough on your diploma and resume, it is not all about being the smartest in your batch. Yes, grades are part of it. But your CHARACTER along with your other skills (leadership, time management, even the practical ones) which are not simply developed and acquired through classroom education may have a greater weight when you’re already out there —— IN THE REAL WORLD.

Whether you are graduating with honor or not, graduation is a big occasion to celebrate – for it marks the culmination of your years of hard work as a student and your parents’ hard work as well who provided you with such good education. Congratulations batch 2012!

***Did you know? The world famous Hellen Keller graduated Magna Cum Laude at Radcliffe College at the age of 24.

Source: http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-cum-laude.htm