All smiles – Marjorie Rice, BSEd-Mathematics, Summa Cum Laude congratulates her fellow graduates.

Thank you Ms. Perla Guillergan Londres Waters for the inspirational message and thank you to the graduation board for the honor to speak on behalf of the graduates.

Chairperson of the Board of Trustees, Atty. Von Lovel D. Bedona; University President, Dr. Teodoro C. Robles; distinguished administrators; respected faculty and staff; dearest parents and guests; and fellow graduates of Batch 2018, ladies and gentlemen, what a BLESSED afternoon!

“This is not the end of the beginning; it’s not the beginning of the end. It is THE beginning, of our lives, of a new chapter of our book.”

Can you believe it? Years ago, most of us walked into these halls as nervous as we were the first day of school. We were the freshmen, the low men on the totem pole. Now, those same years later, we’re leaving the school behind to a whole new crop of people, most of whom were just as nervous as we were when we arrived. Graduation is one of those steps in life that defines a coming of age—the ending of one era of life, as a student or the one being shown the ropes, and moving on to a new stage in which you are a leader, a doer and an achiever in the wider world.

It is a great privilege for me to be standing here in front of you, on behalf of batch 2018, to express the happiness that we feel in our hearts today. All of us are blessed with talents and are worth congratulating, and this is what this day is all about. How many times have we imagined what this day to be like? I have to say, I have thought about this day so many times I could have memorized every imagined scene. But not even the best of my imagined scenes could compare to the real scene I am greeted with right now. It’s a challenge to compress all my thoughts into something long enough to be interesting, but short enough so that you won+t fall asleep.

I have a secret to tell, coming from Subic, Zambales, allow me to tell it in my native language. “Dumarating tayo sa punto ng buhay natin na kailangan nating mamili. Pinili ko siya. Akala ko sasaya ako sa piling niya. Akala ko siya na talaga. Pero hindi pala. Mahigit isang taon din kaming nagsama. May mga panahong naging masaya rin ako sa araw-araw naming pagkikita. Pinilit ko iyong sarili kong maging masaya sa mga pagkakataong kapiling niya ako. Habang tumatagal iyong sayang naramdaman ko ay napalitan ng sakit, hirap at paghati. Unti-unti niya na akong sinasaktan. Masyado niya na akong na-pressure sa mga gusto niya. Nasakal ako ng sobra. Hanggang sa dumating ako sa punto ng buhay kong, kailangan ko na siyang bitawan. I had to let go. I was the one who left. Hindi niya ako nagawang pigilan. I guess we were never meant to be.”

Yes, I shifted course. I received a lot of comments, bad and good. A lot of people wondered why I transferred. Some assumed bad things. But I let God take me to where He wants me to be. One thing I’ve learned about my experience is to trust the perfect will of the Lord and He will bring you to places and look where he brought me, up on this platform, talking and saying “Lord JESUS this is all because of you.”

First, as quoted in the Bollywood movie 3 idiots, “Follow excellence and success will chase you.” This has influenced my perspective and beliefs not only about education but also with life. It is rampant nowadays that many teens had to follow the paths which were decided by their parents or mentors not only in education but in their careers as well for that we tend to forget what is really important. Second, I wanted to strive for success. But you know, success without happiness is really the worst kind of failure. Along the way, I realized that if you strive for accomplishments, it won’t last long; on the other hand, if you keep on striving for excellence, success will follow. And when I say “excellence,” I’m talking about you pursuing your “passion.” Be whatever you want to be, do whatever you want to do and become the master of what you choose to do. Each of one us should never forget the importance of putting our hearts and soul into something and excel in it simply because of the joy of doing something meaningful. Lastly, we should not be determined by what others say and think but be defined of the brave choices we make. Never be afraid to fail for it is only a stepping stone to improvement. Failing at first is not the end of our journey. It’s a portal to a more exciting one. A trip to grow more and be the best you can be.

Seeing you my beloved batch mates inside this auditorium is a living testimony that GOD had done great things in your lives as well. Everything you have been through. All the times you have been pushed on even when you felt you couldn’t. All the mornings you got out of bed no matter how hard it was. All the times you wanted to give up but you got through another day. Never forget how much strength you have learned and developed along the way.

Before I end, I also want to express my unfathomable gratitude to Central Philippine University for the quality education, to the teachers and professors who had tapped into our passion. I commend them on how they exerted effort in teaching us. I delight with you my fellow batch mates on how our teachers made us experts in our own chosen field. And most of all, I am deeply grateful for how the faculty and staff of our beloved Alma Mater had given a platform to our voices.

To my College of Education family and friends who have helped me in achieving this goal, to all the teachers who became part of my journey, THANK YOU SO MUCH for believing in me. To my co-student teachers under the supervision of the CoEd Dean, Dr. Junsay, we sustained not just a great working relationship but created a bond that turned into friendships. They have also been carved in my heart not only as friends but as my second family, thank you. To my ML teachers’ squad, they are the ones who taught me na hindi sa lahat ng oras kailangan puro aral. Kami iyong mga teachers sa umaga pero gamers sa gabi. To the friends I have in the Accountancy department who already graduated last year, iniwan na nila ako pero they will always have a place in my heart. I will always treasure our memories and bonds together because they were also the reason for who I am today. To my MATH-ira MATH-ibay family, we have always been there for each other. In good times and in bad times and most specially in our math examinations. May mga oras na akala natin hindi na natin masosolve iyong mga problema natin pero Math taught us that in every problem there is always a solution. When it comes to team work, wala na atang makakatalo sa atin.

To my family, my brother and most especially my mother, when I look at her it feels like I’m looking at the purest love I know. Thank you for your sacrifice just to give me the life I deserved. May every tear that has ever fallen from your tired eyes on my behalf become a river of paradise. To my grandfather, some people don’t believe in heroes but I guess that’s because they haven’t met you Lolo. You are my pill of happiness and you motivated me in everything that I do. Thank you for coming into our lives.

Graduates, you should know that your parents are very proud of you today. They have high hopes for you, and they believe in you, and you are making them proud by showing what you can do. Take a look at them now, and you can see them smiling. These commitments and the follow-through that your parents (your guardians or surrogates) completed is where the bulk of the credit for this graduation belongs. Yes, the students did the work but without the love, support and guidance given by the parents this day would not have been possible. I would like to request all the graduates to stand up, look behind you and give your parents or your guardians a big round of applause. Thank you, you may be seated.

Let us continue to become a channel of blessing and inspiration to the people around us. Let us continue to keep the Central Spirit alive in us and above all, let us continue to live according to the will of God. All of us will carry the badge of honor to beat our limits and go beyond boundaries.

I will leave you with my life verse, Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” This is not yet the end of our journey. It’s just the beginning and I would like all of you trust and have faith that God has a plan for you.

Thank you. Have a great night.