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csu-gONZAGA’S

CRADLE OF HOPE

t the heart of CSU-Gonzaga stood Mt. Tabungao, one of the remarkable distinctions of CSU-Gonzaga. This
mountain cradles all the aspirations of the campus from conception to its established status at present. As
AMt. Tabungao soars to its peak, CSU-Gonzaga also incessantly harbors and guarantees that learning will

always be at its peak as it aims to provide education for the best and by the best.

At the top of Mt. Tabungao is the image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. This CSU Grotto, as it is popularly known,
was built in 1997-1998 through the concerted efforts of the Student Body Organization of the then CSU Laboratory
High School together with the faculty and staff of CSU-Gonzaga under the administration of the Campus Dean,
Dr. Pedro Tugade. It was sculptured by the late Mr. Albert Calata who found inspiration by patiently climbing the

mountain every morning and would stay until the late afternoon.

Dubbed as the “Labor of Love Project” by the CSU Laboratory High School students, the Sacred Heart of Jesus
Grotto is a manifestation of their undying love for CSU. According to a CSU-LHS graduate who took part in the
“Labor of Love Project”, students were assigned to work by class during their YCAP (Youth Civic Action Program)
days, all would line up and ascend to the mountain with containers of sand or water on both hands. These they
carried from their designated fetching areas and proceeded upwards as they took the zigzag trail to the grotto. The
work was tedious. It challenged the physical strength of the students, but they never considered it a problem as

every stride made knitted a stronger relationship between and among them. Indeed, they found extreme pleasure
in parading their containers while teasing each other on their way up to the slippery and sticky clay soil of Mt.
Tabungao. This is how the CSU Grotto was built. In the heart of every Gonzaganian who became a part of its
construction, the Grotto is not just a structure; it is a sacred witness and remembrance of everyday stories of hard
work and perseverance, of laughter and tears, and of happy high school memories.

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