It’s been along time! Finally, after so many years of hibernation, the pillars of the UST Tau Gamma Phi, the pioneers who started it all, were able to assemble in one roof for a little get together and reminiscing after 30 plus years for most of us. It has been one of my proudest moments and the most memorable vacation I’ve had in years. 

After being out of touch for so many years with our beloved fraternity, I was really amazed how the Tau Gamma Phi has transformed and evolved to be this massive of an organization. The enormity of our reach and the huge numbers of Triskelions scattered all around the world. It only donned on me two years ago when I found out about our website. I was even a little irritated when it took me longer than normal to get access to the site. I’ve been following all the Tau Gamma Phi news since then, the Thomasian Triskelions in particular and the Triskelions Worldwide in general. I read about the volunteer work, charitable activities and all sorts of parties, be it anniversary, Christmas or just plain “gimikan”, through our wonderful website that links us all. And this is also where I heard, and from other brods as well, that the 70’s (71-75) brods kind of deserted our beloved UST chapter. We didn’t have the representation in most of the TAU activities considering the fact that we are in a much better position to help and give support. I know most of us tried to excel in our chosen field of endeavor and in so doing, we tend to forget where we came from and what made us a stronger person today. It really bothered me in some way that after all the hardships we experienced together, we as strong and powerful collectively today, cannot contribute in our own little way for the betterment of our chapter. I know a lot of the 70’s brods transferred to different schools due to unforeseen circumstances. Some of them probably have problems with where to put their loyalty. But every Thomasian Triskelion I talked so far, regardless of how many different chapters they belonged to, it is always the UST chapter the first and foremost recipient of their unparalleled allegiance. So based on the scarcity of the older brods participation in the Thomasian Triskelion affairs, be it financial or volunteer work, I made a little goal for myself to start resurrecting the old timers back to the fold of the Triskelion spirit, thus the little get together on January 4, 2007 came to light. It was really a tremendous success!!!It was a little bit surprising to have everybody that I called, despite their very busy schedules, except the three that had prior commitments, to make it to the venue. It was even more uplifting that our ninong, Egay from UP, who initiated the move to have a chapter here in UST, showed up and gave us his words of wisdom. And to have both Romy and Efren, two of our four founding fathers, and hear their respective inspirational speeches really blow my mind. Of course our very own Mike M. whom we called during our day as “Mr. Tau Gamma Phi” because of his undying dedication to the frat, is without a doubt, one of the main reasons why we are as big and powerful as we are today.I hope this is just the beginning of a more lasting and engaged brotherhood that most of us envisioned when we volunteered to join this great fraternity of ours. It is time for us to show our younger brethren that we are ready to support their endeavor and be a model citizen in our community. As member of the Triskelion Alumni of UST (TAU), let us give the residents the kind of self belonging that we probably aspired and longed for because we didn’t have any alumni to depend upon during our time. The UST residents are the ones who will continue the great legacy of the Thomasian Triskelions. Let us not deprive them of the support they deserve.- Bernie ‘73