Ateneo 5054 Memoirs

ADM5054 is in many ways an organization that is wondrous strange and unique. For one, by an accident of timing, it is limited to men. Secondly, its membership can no longer grow, instead it has been diminishing and will continue to diminish until in the fullness of time it will altogether disappear. Furthermore, a member cannot refuse to join ADM5054 because that has already happened. Neither can he decide to leave the organization because that too will simply happen. At this time there is nothing he can do about either...

There is an obvious connection between Ateneo's high school class of 1950 and college class of 1954. Clearly, from HS50 came the nucleus of College 54. But is this the only connection?

A kinship exists not only between the two graduating classes but also among their members. Their unique bond transcends school ties and must have been forged even before they came to Ateneo.

They were just grade school boys when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, an event that embroiled the Philippines in World War II,...

In 1946 following the end of WWII, Ateneo, “bloodied, but unbowed”, reopened its Padre Faura gates. With its buildings lying in ruins, the school erected renovated Quonset huts behind the rubble to serve as classrooms, a chapel and living quarters for the Jesuits. When Ateneo relocated to Loyola Heights in January 1952, the Padre Faura campus gave way to commercial buildings over the years. Now, the campus HS50 knows is gone without a trace and lives only in the memories of those who were there. In time, those memories...

The boys who would later be College 54 have the distinction of being among the first batch of students to move from their humble preserves in Padre Faura to the grandeur in Loyola Heights. For many, sadness mingled with anxiety as they bade farewell to Padre Faura and said hello to their new campus. Their student lives were to be spent mostly in Bellarmine Hall. Here was where they sat down for lectures, recitations, quizzes and tests and where they had anxious as well as triumphant moments. It was more than 50 years...