THOMASIAN STORY: Atty. Christer James Ray A. Gaudiano

I was born on 21 December 1983 at the UST Hospital. Little did I know that I would return to UST 5 years after my birth as a Kindergarten pupil at the UST Grade School in 1988. In 1996, the 3rd year of the 4-peat UST Tigers dynasty, I graduated from Grade School and entered the UST High School. I first learned the value of leadership in UST High School. I became active in school activities and competitive in inter-High School competitions. It was also in High School that I met my best friends.

It was no brainer that I would take my College course in UST. Since I wanted to become a lawyer, I took up Legal Management at the UST Faculty of Arts and Letters. I also joined various organizations such as the UST Yellow Jackets and Students Democratic Party, where I also met good friends and experienced new things. It was also a test of my leadership as I ran for the AB Student Council, which I eventually won.

After graduating from AB in 2004, there was no other law school for me but UST. Law school was challenging but enjoyable, thanks to our Bar Operations Group and Student Council, where I served as its President. It was also the same time when we founded the Lakas Tomasino Coalition. I was balancing Law School and extracurricular activities; and happily, I still survived. There were sleepless nights and happy days with my future compañeros and compañeras and we finished Law School in 2009; but aside from passing the bar exams, the most important thing that happened in Law School is when I met the love of my life whom I eventually married in the Transfiguration Chapel in Caleruega (wait, UST pa din ‘yun di ba?) in 2014.

It had been a privilege of a lifetime to have become a student of the University of Santo Tomas. There had been good days and tough days but each day, I had been inspired by the greatness of our University and uplifted by the goodness of the students. I have been blessed to represent this school. We love and I will always be honored to carry a title that means more to me than any other: THOMASIAN!

Atty. Christer James Ray A. Gaudiano
presently working as the Head Executive Assistant and Deputy Chief of Staff in the Office of the Secretary of the Department of Tourism