Just recently, our social media pages were inundated with Artificial Intelligence (AI)-generated photos, imagining how people might have appeared in their yearbooks had they graduated in the 1990s. This trend allowed Millennials and Gen Zs, who were either too young or not yet born in that decade, to quench their curiosity. Simultaneously, those who graduated in the 1990s or earlier eagerly participated in this nostalgia-inducing experience, comparing AI-generated images to their real yearbook photos.

Interestingly, before all these AI-generated photos came out, one Bedan had been giving the old schoolers a treat of San Beda’s yesteryears by posting actual Yearbook photos on social media. Allen Mercado is a civil engineer by profession and a musician by vocation. A proud member of the Grade School Class of 1970 and High School Class of 1974, Allen has shown interest in collecting items with no redeeming value. His collection includes long-playing records (vinyl), books, magazines, toys, and a whole lot more!

When asked what inspires him in posting old Yearbook photos, “I just wanted to share the pictures because the campus is so different now from when we were there. Through these pictures, Bedans from various generations will have a better appreciation and understanding of their Alma Mater.”, Mercado answered.

Knowing how the environment would affect his personal collection of photos, armed with a scanner during the late 1990s, Allen decided to start scanning them. Then in 2010, a year after Allen created his Facebook account, he started posting his collections, to the delight of the Bedans. It is interesting to read the comments of his friends as they appreciated the pictures that brought a lot of good memories of San Beda.

While the pictures will help bring back the good old days, it is the actual experience that has left a mark on Allen. “From the beginning, the school endeavored to explore our God-given talents and faculties in accordance with our capacity to grow academically. It helped us acquire the fundamental and necessary tools of learning – the skills, the attitudes, the habits, the patterns, and the basic facts that we would need in our search for truth and knowledge in the years to come. San Beda instilled in us, to the fullest extent they knew a love for the noble and the beautiful. Day in and day out, the school administrators/faculty persevered to make us acquire the social, moral, and spiritual virtues until they became an integral part of each of us. Benedictine education taught us to love our fellowmen, our country, and our God.”

Allen is happily married to Magna P. Mercado and is blessed with 4 children, Adriel, Maria Andria, Ana Gabriella, and Maria Angele.  His message to the Bedan Community. “Take heed of the lyrics of our Alma Mater hymn. This is not just a song to be sung after basketball games. Let this be a guide to understanding what being a true Bedan means.”.

by Teejay Gonzales (HS – 1993 and CAS – 1997)