Push Admin

Article (news)

 Bryde Ong 06202024

ABS-CBN News Intern

<div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:950px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1718861901208Bryde-Ong-06202024.jpg" style="width:950px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="Courtesy: Bryde Ong"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left"><em>Courtesy: Bryde Ong</em></span></span></span></div><div><br/></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><br/></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Dion Ong, a Filipino student, has graduated summa cum laude from Yale University. </span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><br/></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">“I was very fortunate that things turned out better than I imagined,” </span><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">the 21-year-old told ABS-CBN news. </span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><br/></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Ong scored a perfect GPA of 4.0 when he completed his </span><span style="color:#1c1c1c;background-color:#ffffff;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">combined degrees of </span><span style="color:#1c1c1c;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Bachelor of Science and Master of Science in Computer Science. He marched with some</span><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"> 4,000</span><span style="color:#000000;background-color:#ffffff;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"> students during Yale’s 323rd Commencement ceremony. </span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><br/></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Ong has been an academic achiever since grade school when he was still in the Philippines, where he studied at the Ateneo de Manila University. </span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><br/></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">He said he had been inclined to mathematics and computer science since he was young, which eventually led him to Yale in order to pursue the </span><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">“most rigorous education possible” in</span><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"> these fields.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><br/></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">“[I] was very fortunate to receive an acceptance letter with a scholarship [from the university],”</span><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"> he added. There, he enjoyed the freedom of choosing courses to specialize based on his interests as long as it complies with the university’s requirements.</span></div><div><br/></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="color:#1c1c1c;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><strong>‘HARD WORK, DEDICATION’ </strong></span></div><div><br/></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Balancing responsibility is the biggest challenge for Ong during his academic endeavor. He is the captain of their competitive programming team and an undergraduate learning assistant while also juggling his time to hunt for a job.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><br/></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">His programming team delivered Yale its first win at the regional championship and qualified for the world finals. He also got his dream job at a quantitative finance firm in New York City. </span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><br/></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Ong said all of his hardships and sacrifices paid off with the greater things coming back to him tenfold.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:12pt;margin-bottom:12pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">“</span><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">I felt very blessed when I learned that I would graduate summa cum laude at Yale, because this achievement, of course, reflects the hard work and dedication that I devoted to my academics,”</span><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"> he said.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:12pt;margin-bottom:12pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Aside from his unwavering commitment to the Ivy League school&#x27;s quality of education, Ong&#x27;s stay at Yale was made worthwhile by the people he met and the activities he took part in, he said. </span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:12pt;margin-bottom:12pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">“The people that I met at Yale were very diverse,”</span><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"> Ong said.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:12pt;margin-bottom:12pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">He said the students he interacted with at the university came from a &quot;variety of backgrounds&quot; and were &quot;quantitative thinkers,&quot; and he was grateful for the opportunity of sharing different ideas and perspectives with them.</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height:1.38;text-align:justify;margin-top:12pt;margin-bottom:12pt"><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/life/04/19/23/up-rural-high-school-student-gets-offers-from-5-us-universities">UP Rural High School student gets offers from 5 US universities</a></span></div><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:633px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/17188598511391718859848011.png" style="width:633px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left"><em id="isPasted">Courtesy: Bryde Ong</em></span></span></span><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"><strong>TIPS FOR STUDENTS </strong></span></div><div><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">Ong advised Filipinos who aspire to pursue education at Yale or other top universities in the US to do their best at their current school and strive to excel in their studies for further credentials, as schools abroad put a high value on academic abilities.</span><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"></span></div><div><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">“Pursue a variety of passions that they can highlight in their application,” he said.</span><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"></span><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"></span></div><div><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">The Yale summa cum laude also encouraged students to surround themselves with </span><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap">“well-rounded and multifaceted people”</span><span style="color:#000000;background-color:transparent;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap"> who display leadership, enthusiasm, and a commitment to their community, who can positively motivate them to become better individuals.</span></div><div><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/spotlight/09/06/23/harvard-hires-its-first-filipino-language-instructor">Harvard hires its first-ever Filipino language instructor</a></div>

<p>Dion Ong, a Filipino student, has graduated summa cum laude from Yale University.</p>

Dion Ong, a Filipino student, has graduated summa cum laude from Yale University.

Filipino student graduates summa cum laude at Yale University

News

Entertainment

Lifestyle

Sports

Metro.Style

More

Sudoku

Word of the Day

Lotto

Horoscope

Lifestyle

Filipino student graduates summa cum laude at Yale University

ABS-CBN News Intern,

Myra Pasa and Jeannelle Ungriano

Published June 20, 2024 01:39 PM PHT

Read More:

Filipino Yale

Bryde Ong

students

education

ANC promo

ABS-CBN is the leading media and entertainment company in the Philippines, offering quality content across TV, radio, digital, and film. Committed to public service and promoting Filipino values, ABS-CBN continues to inspire and connect audiences worldwide.

Corporate

Investors

Governance

International Distribution

Corporate

Governance

Investors

International Distribution

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

AI Policy

Terms of Service

Advertise with Us

© 2026 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

AI Policy

Advertise with Us

© 2026 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

AI Policy

Advertise with Us

© 2026 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.