Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Speech of Gratitude and Humility...



I am blessed, humbled and privileged to stand before you this afternoon in the 7th Commencement Exercises of our institution and share with you some of my thoughts and experiences.

We are here to celebrate this momentous event, our graduation day. This is the big day for all of us, for today marks not the end of our journey to education but only the beginning. As we pursue our dreams, we continue to learn from our experiences and gain wisdom from the mistakes and failures that come our way. With this, I believe that indeed, education is a continuing process.


As I think of this occasion, I can’t help but recall the journey I have been through. As I entered the Tertiary Education, my only goal then was to finish first year college. For me this was already an achievement because I was fully aware that with our financial status, it was impossible for me to finish a degree.

I had to work as a service crew in Jollibee and at the same time study. It was a struggle for me to study and work at the same time. After Jollibee, I also worked in Burger Machine and was on duty on night shifts just to study in the afternoon. For almost a year, I sacrificed to the point that I had to sleep for only 3 to 4 hours a day thinking that it will be worth it after some time. It was during my third year when I have finally decided not to pursue my studies. I was already enrolled but since I thought that I will not be able to manage my time and meet the financial challenges involved in my studies, I thought of dropping from college. So, I went to school then and tried to reimburse my payment. However, Ma’am Chat and Sir Maniti helped me and asked me to talk to our President, Sir Mike and to our Dean, Ma’am Quiambao. With their help, I was able to continue my studies and finish my degree.

In life, one has to face challenges and trials and I have been through a lot of these in my journey. As the eldest in the family with four siblings, incredibly, I was able to surpass and withstand all these by the grace of God.

But having a degree is not just what life is all about. What then should come after this? I know that I will look for a job and probably be employed. I need to, because I want to help my family. But, with what is happening now, with the tragedy, the tsunami and earthquake in Japan and the political instability in Libya, with the unemployment and other social issues faced by our country, I am a little bit worried, but I have high HOPES that there will be a good future for all of us. We just need to have FAITH and TRUST in ourselves and of course to the Heavenly Father.

What then is our responsibility towards our country as the new graduates? As we continue our journey, we have the social responsibility to take care for ourselves and to meet the demands of today’s challenge to our changing environment. There is a call to action and I believe that we can respond to this in our own way by keeping a clean surrounding. In our homes, we should ensure that we dispose our home waste in a responsible way. This is just a simple way but we can make a difference in this country if we truly care for our environment and ourselves. Unless man can keep the environment clean, there is no future for man on earth.

Another responsibility is to work hard upon employment. Let us do our work to the best that we can with honesty and integrity. We should work as if GOD were our employer. With that guiding principle, we can never fail to do good service to the establishment where we are employed.

Fellow graduates, graduation is just a phase in life where one will have to move on to what is next. As we move towards it, we have to be grateful to all the people who have helped us in our achievement. I would like to express my sincerest gratitude to all the people who have been with me and who have helped me. Thank you to the management especially the administrators, and to the selfless givers of knowledge and our mentors in life, our teachers. To my academic professors and to our academic head, Ma'am Yolanda Pangan, thank you for the knowledge and for the moral support. To our theology mentors, my sincerest gratitude for implanting the seed of faith in me which I am now anchored with. Thanks for the values you have taught and we have learned. Simply put, we must be paragons of these values. We should become role models as alumni of MQC by exemplifying and living these values like the love of country, respect for elders, loyalty, honesty and integrity. Similarly, we must resolutely commit ourselves to uphold the vision and mission of our alma mater which is Academic Excellence and Integral Formation.

To my classmates, thank you for being there for me and pushing me to succeed to the highest of my potential and best of my ability. You have helped me to set standards for myself and achieve my goals and dreams. I will forever cherish the moments I have shared with you.

Among the people who have been there for me always are my parents. I express my gratitude for their unending moral support and unconditional love. I know that they are happy to see me now that I have finished a degree. I also would like to thank my sisters for their love. They have served as my strength and my inspiration to come this far. They are actually the reasons why I pursued in my studies to make my dream come true because I know that their future in life lies in me. This is it my dear sisters…I have done this for you! This award is for Ma and Tang and for all of you.

Above all, I thank the Lord for my life and for this achievement. I thank Him for the gift of knowledge and wisdom. I will not be a recipient of this prestigious academic award if not for the gifts that He has bestowed upon me. Thank you Lord for this award….I accept it in all HUMILITY.

Dear graduates, I hope for all of us that we are able to go forth and make a difference in the world. On a personal level, I hope that each of us is able to contribute in a way that is helpful to the environment and to the Earth; and ultimately I am confident that we will all persevere and succeed because we have been given the tools and the skills to do so. With that, I would like to say, thanks again for giving me this opportunity to share my thoughts, congratulations to my fellow graduates, good luck, and MOVE ON towards your goal. God bless us All!