Delivered by Atty. Niegil Eullaran Libo-on

During the 8th CPU Senior High School Commencement Exercises, Atty. Niegil Eullaran Libo-on shared his powerful full-circle journey with the graduating class.

Rev. Dr. Ernest Howard B. Dagohoy, University President, our University Administrators, Brig. Gen. Ezra James Palomero Enriquez, Vice President of the CPU AAI, Dr. Jerry M. Lego, Chief Education Supervisor for School Governance and Operation Division of the Schools Division Office of Iloilo City of the Department of Education, Prof. Franklin G. Robite, Acting Principal of the University Senior High School, Ms. Abigail Vilches, Assistant Principal, Ms. Cheryl Buendia Maralit, PTA President, dear parents and worthy graduates, maayong hapon sa aton tanan!

When I was a graduate myself, in elementary and high school, probably just like many of you, I dreamed of standing on the stage delivering my speech before the graduates of my alma mater as a commencement speaker myself. Last year, I was able to fulfill that dream when I was invited as the graduation rites speaker for my elementary and high school alma maters. But, I never thought that I would be given the chance to speak in a Senior High School Commencement Exercises, not because I feel bitter with the SHS system, but because I did not experience it. See, I finished my four years in high school in 2014, which makes me a part of the second last batch to not have undergone SHS.

Regardless, my message this afternoon will not focus on any SHS experience. Instead, I will give you the things which I think would better help you as you embark on a new journey, this time in your college education.

High school is said to be the best years of a person’s life. You meet the best friends you could possibly have in your life, make indelible memories, be carefree, play or even fool around, commit petty mistakes, etc.

But entering college is a whole different world.  It is an almost absolute certainty that your college life will be marred by challenges. These challenges may vary though. For some it could be in academics, for others, it could be the expectations from family, peers, and even from one’s own person. For myself, it was financial uncertainty. As can be gleaned from the earlier introduction, I did not come from an affluent family. My Papa wore different hats—tricycle driver, manug-uling, farmer, construction worker, flower vendor, etc.—name it. My Mama on the other hand was a house help, manuglibod Barley, and flower vendor. All these to raise me and two younger brothers. Thus, to support my studies, I had to be a work student here in this University, to finish my undergrad. Even after that, I had to work full time, while studying full time, to complete my law school.

How did I do that, I do not know for sure. But if there are things that I can share with you, allow me to give you three:

Number one, Set a Vision.

It is important to know what you want in life. Nobody is required to be able to determine it with absolute certainty, not to mention the fact that nobody can. But having a vision will lead you to where you want to be. You must be able to visualize where you want to see yourself years from now.

This will be your why. With all the challenges you may face in college, the distractions you may encounter, and the discouragement you may endure, it will be so easy to give up. It will be so easy to be a mediocre. But your vision in life will always give you an answer as to why, despite all the adversities, you should, and you could continue.

My vision as a young person was very simple—my future self living an objectively comfortable life with my family. As the eldest son in a family that must work twice or thrice as hard for everything that we need, all I wanted as a kid was a comfortable life for me and my family.

As a work student, I was assigned to different offices—in clerical services for the Social Work Department and the University Student Center, and laboratory services for the Chemistry Laboratory. But the most memorable for me would be my first ever assignment. When I entered CPU in 2014, I was assigned to the janitorial services under the Buildings Upkeep and Maintenance Department.

While my classmates were either asleep or preparing for their morning classes, I was mopping the lobby of the Old Valentine Building at 5:00 AM. While other students were catching up with their friends, or relaxing after a long tiring day at school, I was sweeping classrooms in the Engineering Building. While they were extending their sleep on a Saturday morning, I was washing trash bins at the Halfmoon Drive. The very building that we are occupying right now, the Rose Memorial Auditorium, was once my area. I have swept, mopped, and cleaned every corner of this building. This was once my area.

It would have been so easy for me to pity myself, drop everything, and just give up.

But what kept me going was my vision for myself and my family. I was working toward a future I could see, even when it wasn’t yet visible to others. I know that through the hard labor I was on, I will achieve the life I have always envisioned of living.

Having a vision will not give you the results that you want. But it will give you a direction on how to get them. For many, if not all of you, finances may not be so much of a problem in the same way that it was to me. But certainly, you will not be exempt from challenges in your college life. It could be academics, family, personal, and peer expectations, failures, disappointments, etc. Whatever these challenges may be, I am sure that your vision for yourself and your family will be your North Star, your driving force, your why and how, to press on and persist in your pursuit of anything you want to achieve and become in life.

Number two, Take the First Steps.

Mustering the sufficient amount of courage to do something is no easy thing. Sometimes, the vastness of the task before us is overwhelming. It is scary to start something new. What if it fails? What if things get even worse? The bad news is: nothing will be achieved if we do not take the first steps. But the good news is: most of the time, only the first steps are the most difficult ones. Once you get going, you keep going. You just have to give yourself a chance, a shot at achieving what you want. Otherwise, you will be stuck at wherever you are.

After earning my college degree, I knew I wanted to go to a law school in Manila. How? I did not know. I can even remember multiple instances when I was asked, “Diin ka maubra hay?” “Maapply-apply pa lang.” “Diin ka maistar didto?” “Mangita lang ahh.” “I was even told, arisgado sa imo ba.”

Human as I am, I was scared. I was uncertain. But I told myself. If I do not take the first steps, if I do not book that flight, if I do not take that entrance exam, nothing will ever happen. Four years later, I would still not have that law degree I have always wanted to earn. I took the first steps. I moved to Manila, landed an employment after a month of job hunting, enrolled in law school, and before I knew it, job’s finished.

Well, so many things took place in between. I am not saying that all you need to do is to start. But the point is that all of this happened because I took the first steps. I gave myself a chance, and a shot, to achieve all of this.

As you enter the portal of your college years, life will present many things to you. It could be a challenge to deal with, or an opportunity to take advantage of. Whatever that may be, if you really want to make things happen, press on and take the first steps. You will be surprised that before you know it, you are already where you want to be.

Finally, Enjoy the Process.

For the last point, this might be the most important of all. They say, trust the process. But as we trust the process, sometimes we forget to enjoy it. For the most part, it is not the destination, but the journey that is the point of it all.

As young persons, we have the tendency to be distracted in our journeys. This could be because of two possible things. One, it could be that we are bored, or are too occupied with our present conditions; or two, are too excited with the destinations we are looking forward to.

Again, it would be rather convenient for me to be distracted as a work student. I could have compared myself with my classmates. I could have hated the world for making us financially unstable. I could have just dropped out and focus on how I could earn to support my family. But I looked at things differently. I understood that I was in the middle of a long process and searched for ways to enjoy it.

Join student organizations. Attend campus activities. Learn new hobbies. Meet new friends. The point of college life is to learn. And learning happens in so many ways.

My dear graduates, as you embark into a new chapter of your student life, challenges are a promise. Nobody is immune from such. You may just encounter different sets of adversities, but their presence in your lives is a certainty.

As you take on them, I hope that you would take to heart the things that I have shared with you. Set a vision in life. Visualize where you want to see yourself in the future, and allow this vision to lead and to propel you forward against anything that may come your way. Be brave and take the first steps. Refuse to be stagnant. Press on and give yourself a fighting chance, a shot, no matter how slim that could be, to elevate yourself by achieving the things that you have always wanted to achieve. And finally, enjoy the process. You will only get through this once in your lifetime. Do not miss the chance of making the most out of the journey just because you are to occupied by the destination.

As Centralian graduates, I am more than confident that you will enter the portals of your college lives, equipped not only with the technical learnings you have earned here, but also with the vision, the courage, and character instilled in you by our beloved alma mater through Scientia et Fides.

Again, congratulations, dear graduates.