14/08/2026
Records are meant to be broken not only for sports but also for academic excellence! Hyper Student!
UP Scholar John Gabriel Pelias Broke 63-Year Academic Record With Near-Perfect 1.016 GWA
🎓 A 63-YEAR ACADEMIC RECORD BROKEN AT 19
At only 19 years old, John Gabriel Pelias graduated summa cm laude from the University of the Philippines Diliman in 2011 with a BS Mathematics degree and a General Weighted Average (GWA) of 1.016—breaking a UP postwar academic record that had stood for 63 years.
In UP's grading system, 1.00 is the highest possible grade. Throughout his undergraduate studies, Pelias earned 1.00 in all but three subjects, receiving 1.25 in the remaining three. His 1.016 GWA surpassed the 1.02 record established in 1948 by Emerenciana Yuvienco Arcellana.
Behind the exceptional academic record was a scholar from a family with limited financial resources. At the time, Pelias' family income was below ₱80,000 annually, qualifying him for additional UP financial assistance on top of his tuition scholarship. For several semesters, money from his scholarship also helped support his family.
His achievement earned him the privilege of speaking on behalf of the graduating class during UP Diliman's 100th General Commencement Exercises on April 17, 2011. Years later, UP recalled one of the messages he gave his fellow graduates:
“You graduated not from any university but from a university named after the nation. Use your talents to contribute to the country.”
Pelias ultimately chose to serve the same university that helped educate him. By 2017, he was a professor at the UP Institute of Mathematics, where he had also completed his master's degree, with academic interests including differential geometry.
His record stood until 2015, when BS Biology graduate Tiffany Grace Uy earned a 1.004 weighted average, surpassing Pelias' 1.016.
From financially disadvantaged scholar to record-breaking graduate and UP educator, Pelias' journey became an example of academic excellence translated into service to the university and the country.