A Filipino student graduated summa cum laude with a perfect GPA (grade point average) of 4.00 at the prestigious Ivy League school Yale University in the US.
Dion Stephan Ong, 21, was one of the about 4,400 Yale graduates who were conferred degrees during the university’s 323rd Commencement ceremony on May 20 at the Old Campus in New Haven, Connecticut.
Founded in 1701, Yale University is one of the top universities in the US and the world.
Dion Stephan Ong in his graduation photos and during Yale University's 323rd Commencement ceremony on May 20 (Photos courtesy of Bryde Ong)
Ong graduated with a combined Bachelor of Science and Master of Science in Computer Science degrees, which Yale offers for “exceptionally able and well-prepared students.”
Besides the summa cum laude honors, Ong also received the Distinction in the Major, which “is conferred at graduation on any senior who, on nomination by the student’s department or program, and with the concurrence of the Committee on Honors and Academic Standing, merits such an award for the quality of work completed in the major subject,” according to the Yale website.
He is also an inductee at the Phi Beta Kappa, the US’ “most prestigious honor society” where admission to the organization “is based on the percentage of grades of A earned at Yale.”
Ong also received the Yale Science & Engineering Association (YSEA) Senior of Distinction award, given to “outstanding Yale College seniors who demonstrate excellence in Science, Applied Science, or Engineering majors.”
He was the Yale team captain at the International Collegiate Programming Contest (ICPC) World Finals 2021, which won honorable mention.
“Dion, a huge congratulations! This is one of those moments that highlights the profound joy of motherhood. We couldn’t be prouder to have witnessed you grow and excel beyond our expectations. Looking forward to what is to come,” his mother, Bryde, posted on Facebook.
In an interview with Manila Bulletin, Ong revealed his plans and advice to Filipino students who want to enter Yale University.
About receiving the summa cum laude honors, he said he “feels very blessed to receive this honor. It represents a lot of the hard work and dedication that I put into my studies.”
“But more than that, I feel very privileged to have the chance to study at Yale because more than my grades, I think it's the people and activities that I experienced at Yale that made my stay worthwhile,” said Ong.
Dion Stephan Ong with his family and friends at Yale University's 323rd Commencement ceremony on May 20 (Photos courtesy of Bryde Ong)
Dion Stephan Ong's induction to the Phi Beta Kappa honor society (Photo courtesy of Bryde Ong)
According to the Yale website, “The bachelor’s degree is awarded summa cum laude to no more than the top 5 percent of the graduating class, magna cum laude to no more than the next 10 percent of the graduating class, cum laude to no more than the next 15 percent of the graduating class.”
Ong added, “People at Yale are some of the most brilliant, talented and kind people that I know and I think that I'm very fortunate to have met.”
In the Philippines, Ong graduated valedictorian of Class of 2020 at the Ateneo de Manila University Senior High School.
In 2019, he won a bronze medal at the prestigious International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) held in the United Kingdom.
In order to complete his combined BS and MS in Computer Science degrees, he said it “involves taking a lot of more CS [Computer Science] classes and particularly have more advanced CS classes at the graduate level which I think I coped up by taking a higher concentration of CS preparation, which I think was in line with what my academic interests so it wasn't too much of a challenge for me to pursue this degree.”
Ong entered Yale in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic, which became a challenge for him as classes were done online.
“It definitely started off on a rough note because my first year was entirely online and I couldn't explore the campus and make as many friends and connections. So during my first year I was just taking classes over Zoom in the Philippines, waking up at 4 a.m. for classes because of the time zone difference but still I stuck through it through the support of my family who I was with and, yeah, the next years were much better because I was on campus, there were a lot of friends and resources that I could rely on so the next 3 years went by much better,” he said.
Following his graduation at Yale University, Ong will be working as a core engineer at Hudson River Trading in New York City.
Hudson River Trading “is a multi-asset class quantitative trading firm that provides liquidity on global markets.” On its website, the company stated that “we have built one of the world’s most advanced computing environments for research and development, modeling, and risk management, and are at the forefront of technical innovation for financial markets everywhere.”
“I plan to stay there for the next few or so years,” said Ong.
He advised Filipinos who want to study in Yale to highlight the character that Yale looks for among potential students.
“Well, I think at Yale, of course, on top of excelling academically they look for very well-rounded and multifaceted individuals because as I mentioned, like on top of being smart, people at Yale are also very talented in different things and are also immensely kind. So I think aside from pursuing academics, it's worthwhile highlighting the sort of character that Yale looks for in its students in your application,” he said.
When he applied to enter Yale, Ong said, “In my application, aside from being academically capable, I also demonstrated, I think, my desire to, my intellectual curiosity as well as my desire to use my major to make a difference in the world and I think this is something that Yale appreciates.”
Marching during the commencement ceremony made Ong feel happy and said.
“Well, of course, it was, I guess, a mix of happy and sad. Happy in the sense that, you know, I felt extremely rewarded for my hard work but at the same time there was like a sense of sadness because I've been saying goodbye to a lot of the friends I made at Yale. Yeah, I really enjoyed my time at Yale,” he said.
Yale University's 323rd Commencement ceremony on May 20 (Photos from Yale News/Dan Renzetti)