The graduation ceremony of the Law, Economics, Finance, Business Engineering and Information Engineering students of the Class of 2021-1 was held at the "canchita" of Universidad del Pacífico (UP). A space where not only important University activities have taken place, but also important national events, such as the electoral debate between Alberto Fujimori and Mario Vargas Llosa in 1990. On this occasion, the graduation ceremony began with welcoming words by the Secretary General of Universidad del Pacífico, Luis Alfredo Agusti Pacheco-Benavides. 

In turn, the President of the University, Dr. Felipe Portocarrero Suárez, said that UP aspires to provide its graduates not only with an academic training of excellence, but also the strengthening of their character and a continuous willingness to learn. In this sense, he emphasized three points in his speech: first, that the academic training provided by this university has given them tools, concepts and methodologies to be able to have a rigorous attitude towards reality; and second, the need to integrate various disciplines to address an enormously complex world.

"Third, it is not enough to have given you this ability to open up to other disciplines, but also to make sense of it. In the logic of why we study what we study and what we want to answer when we seek solutions to problems we face. That is why we wanted you to be self-reflective, to know your place in the world and to discover how to transform it," he added.

He also emphasized that this third element is the sense of exploration of the academic disciplines that leads them to commit themselves to transform the place they inhabit, that is, to be leaders with purpose for the world, as indicated by the new Universidad del Pacífico tagline.

In a similar vein, Juan Francisco Castro, dean of the School of Economics and Finance, took the opportunity to reflect on the role of the State, since, in his opinion, it is a common working space where the different careers can coincide to play a leading role and thus achieve a significant improvement.

 "A State that forgets the most elementary part of its role is a State condemned to abandon its citizens. And a lot of that is visible today; but it's not all bad news. There you are, you are the good news that UP has for the country and for the world, professionals with the ability to think critically, who are responsible and aware of the decisions of their actions and capable of leading by example. The challenge is great, but there is a huge community of UP alumni who share the same values and work ethic as you, professionals, who are committed to creating opportunities that give people wellbeing". he said.

Guest of honor

Eduardo Torres-Llosa Villacorta, General Manager of the Central Reserve Bank of Peru and UP Economics graduate, was invited to give a speech at this ceremony, in which he shared his experience in the private sector and, more recently, in the public sector. In this regard, he pointed out that the main concern of the central reserve banks is how to face the current problems of the world in an innovative way, and therefore stressed the interest of having professionals who learn, that is, who are capable of being self-critical and self-confident.

"You have every right in the world, and you have to make it look that way, to be extremely self-confident. You are graduating from the best university. If you are graduating today, it is because you are the best, and if you have done so in such a difficult context, as we all know, it is because you are even better. But there must also be self-criticism. There has to be self-criticism. And self-criticism, may the authorities forgive me for being so direct, it is not because of the technical expertise that you will stand out in time. Today it has been proven that knowledge changes so much and so fast that in 5 years or less what you have studied will no longer be useful. What then is left of the University? What the University provides, of course, are the values and what the University provides is in essence, what you have emphasized now, that eagerness to improve, to face adversity and to learn how to learn. I invite you not to lose that, that is what the world demands today," he emphasized.

He then urged the graduates to cultivate three things, whether they work in the private or public sector: on the one hand, to be very self-critical with a lot of self-confidence while maintaining their continuous learning; on the other hand, to keep themselves informed of what is happening in local, regional and global affairs to understand what is happening in the world; and finally, to have a strong sense of purpose to awaken passion in what they do.

During the ceremony, the most outstanding students were recognized for their efforts. Among them: 

Robert Maes Special Award

Law: Santiago Neira Meza

Economics: Oscar Omar Felipe Leon Leon

Finance: Not awarded

Business Engineering: Santiago José María Mariátegui Lazarte

Information Engineering: Not awarded

Merit Honor Award

1st place Law: Santiago Neira Meza

2nd Place Law: Renzo Anaya Amaya

3rd Place Law: Nicolas Daichi Yano Tsuha

1st place Economics: Oscar Omar Felipe León León

2nd place Economics: Álvaro Alejandro Hinostroza Lamilla

3rd place Economics: Andrea Sotelo Redhead

1st place Finance: Magaly Julisa Acuña Condori

2nd place Finance: Fernando Miguel Ruiz De La Cruz

3rd place Finance: Sebastián Silva Rama

1st place Business Engineering: Santiago José María Mariátegui Lazarte

2nd place Business Engineering: Rodrigo Ferran Carrión Marsano

3rd place Business Engineering: Alejandro Gordillo Valdéz

1st place Information Engineering: Not awarded

2nd place Information Engineering: Not awarded

3rd place Information Engineering: Not awarded