PUPians For A Common Vision, Common Dream

By Mary Grace P. Ronquillo

Summa cum Laude

Bachelor in Public Administration and Governance

“One good success erases all failures of the past. And greatness once achieved, however brief, stays with the man, or with the nation.”

(Our distinguished guest speaker, Vice President of the Republic of the Philippines Noli “ Kabayan” de castro), Acting President Dr. Dante G. Guevarra, Executive Vice President Dr. Victoria C. Naval, Vice President for Academic Affairs Dr. Samuel Salvador, Vice president for Administration Dr. Augustus F. Cezar, Vice President for Research and Development Dr. Pastor B. Malaborbor, Vice president for Finance ms. Marissa D. Legaspi, Officer-in-Chargeof the Office of the Vice President for Student Services and external Affairs Engr. Dante V. gedaria, Deans, Directors, Chairs, Members of the Faculty, parents, my fellow graduates and friends GOOD MORNING!

Like Julius Ceasar, “VENI, VEDI, VICI”.

WE CAME to PUP to enrich our goals and be more educated. WE SAW the ups and downs of being a PUPian; the challenges we have to face; the timeless hours we have to spend; the pain and agony we have to endure; and the walls we have to scale. Despite all odds, WE CONQUERED. And today marks our DAY OF VICTORY. Yes, OUR day of victory and not only MY victory.

In the eys of some critics, being hailedwith honors, beaming with confidence for a feat that would be remembered for a lifetime separates one from the rest of the graduates. But for me, there should be no borderline between us. I truly believe that all of us sacrificed a lot to obtain a degree that would also be remembered for a lifetime. Therefore, we all deserve to be recognized, with or without honors.Recognition should be given not only to those who made good on their scholastic records but also those who have really work hard to strive for far more than mediocrity.

Kaya naman ang karangalang nakamit ko at ng iba pang mga may karangalan nagyon ay hindi lamang para sa amin kundi para rin sa mga kapwanamin mag aaral na nagsipagtapos nbagyon:

Sa mga may kapansana, sila’y higit na kahanga-hanga sapagkat hindi naging hadlang ang kanilang pisikal na kakulangan sa pagtatamo ng edukason;

Sa mga Iskolar na nagyo’y nakapagtapos kahit sila’y ulila na sa mga magulang o di kaya’y nag –iisa lamang ang magulang, sadyang mahirap ang mamuhay nang walang gabay ng ina o ama;

Sa mga estudyanteng pinagsabay ang pag-aaral sa kanilang paghahanap-buhay dahil sa paghihikahos, bagamat pasan-pasan nila ang hirap ng buhay ay nagsusumikap pa ring makatapos, tanging puhunan nilaay sipag at tiyaga;

Sa mga maagang naging ina at ama na subalit pinagpatuloy pa rin ang kanilang pag-aaral para sa magiging kinabukasana ng kanilang mga anak, hindi nawalan ng pag-asa gayong halos itakwil na sila ng kanilang mga magulang dahil sa minsang pagkakamali;

Sa mga Isko at Iska na nangarap at nagsikap magkaroon ng karangalan subalit hindi nila ito nakamit dahil sa 2.75 o 3.0 na marka, maaring sila ay higit na marunong kaysa sa akin;

Sa mga mag-aaral na napagkamalng mahina ang ulo dahil sa mga mabababang marka, pasasaan ba’t lilikha rin sila ng malalaking pangalan sa iba’t ibang industriya at mag-iiwan ng makasaysayang marka sa lipunan;

Sa mga kabataang nagbuwis ng kanilang buhay, naglaan ng panahon at oras upang ipaglaban ang kapakanan ng mga estudyanten at isulong ang interes ng sambayanan, di mana nila nakamit ang ganitong pang-akademikong hangarin sila naman ay babd sa karanasan at puno ng adhikaing pagkamasa’t Pilipino;

At sa mga manggagawa na sa murang edad ay nag-aral at nangaral ng salita ng Diyos upang ipahayag ang diwa ng Kanyang pag-ibig sa atin, walang nang hihigit pa sa inyong mga gawa, ang karangalang nakamit naming ay hindi makahihigit sa dami ng buhay na inyong binago at pinag-ibayo.

SALUDOAKO SA INYO MGA KAPWA KO MAG-AARAL!

You truly deserve a big round of applause!

But of course, the victory would not be ours without the great institution that served as our battlefield in the pursuit of quality education. Certainly, we have discovered the value of knowledge and the power of good character as the real foundations of genuine wisdom. We have realized the fruits of healthy exchanges of ideas and insights. We have accepted mistakes and moments of recklessness. We have become stronger, more confident and affirmed. And so, we should be very grateful to our Alma Mater that contributed so much to our development and our well-being.

Moreover, being a PUPian is a rare opportunity. A four or five-year college education for only 3,000-5,000 Ph. [sic] pesos is something that other universities and colleges cannot offer. We pay less but we get more. Eventhough PUP has scarce resources, we, graduates, are still equipped with the knowledge and values needed to manage a good take-off as we leave the portals of PUP.

In this sense, we are all scholars, we have been gifted with this kind of knowledge and values. Our biggest challenge now is to make something out of our college education. And for me, we can only make something out of this if we heed calls bigger than us. One of these calls is to respond to the needs of our communities and, on a greter level, our nation.

I believed that the knowledge and ideas we have acquired are not mere words: They mean power; they can change society. We have to use our particular competencies to effect change. What we are today is the product of our past, so, for future generations, let us create a new future that will correct the many mistakes of the past.

The country needs highly committed and dedicated people who can bring about economic growth even amidst political uncertainties. As PUPians, we should become role models for a richer and productive citizenry. We should lead our own community in character building, the one that will defeat all the negative energies in our minds and bodies as a people.

The first big thing to do is to transform ourselves into strong and moral people. Despite insurmountable consequences and temptations, we should not give up our responsibility to be accountable for our actions. As one saying goes, “the supreme end of education is expert discernment in all things—the power to determine the good from the bad, the genuine from the counterfeit, and to prefer the good and the genuine to the bad and the counterfeit.”

Likewise, as educated individuals, we should utilize our potentials and act as one in times of difficulties. More often than not, in the midst of a problem, we criticize our leaders for their inefficiencies and ineffectiveness and other people for their ignorance and innocence in politics. But have we ever asked ourselves if we have done anything about the problem? Ladies and gentlemen, “if we have had bad leaders today and in the past, it is not the fault of the many who know less, but the fault of the few who know more but who do nothing or who don’t do enough.” As Dr. Jose Rizal said, “ It is enough for good people to do nothing for the evil ones to succeed.” We are all part of the problem. We are all partly to blame. But the good thing about this is, we are also the answer, we are also the solution. If we want to see progress in our country, we must first start with the way we perform our duties as citizens. We must be involved. We must GET involved. In short, we must be vigilant of politics, because a society that is vigilant of politics CHANGES politics.

Second, let us harness and develop our intellectual resources for the advancement of our country. One of the major reasons of country’s slow economic growth is the exodus of our middle class professionals to toher countries, which had resulted in the depletion of the needed manpower to boost our economy. Indeed, we are expected to be active contributors to the country’s development. I am not saying that we should disregard job opportunities in other places, my call is to prioritize ours before others. Certainly, this is a lofty ideal yet, it makes sense if we do it wholeheartedly.

On top of it all, “WE MUST WORK TOGETHER FOR THIS COMMON GOAL OF ATTAINING ECONOMIC PROGRESS AND POLITICAL STABILITY FOR THE FILIPINO NATION, TO ACHIEVE THIS, WE MUST HAVE A COMMON DREAM OF BECOMING SUCCESSFUL IN OUR OWN FIELDS OF SPECIALIZATION FOR A BETTER FUTURE.” (And I believe that Vice-President Noli de Castro will be our great partner in achieving this common goal and dream)

As I said in the introductory part of my speech, “ONE GOOD SUCCESS ERASES ALL FAILURES OF THE PAST. AND GREATNESS ONCE ACHIEVE, HOWEVER BRIEF, STAYS WITH THE MAN OR WITH THE NATION.” So, let us do our best to become successful in all our undertakings. The transformative impact of our achivements can make a difference. All it takes for us is to put our head and heart into what we do, and the whole universe will turn around on its axis to provide us with our destinations and accolades in life.

And so, let me end this speech with a note of gratitude.

Hindi po mattapos ang talumpating ito nang walang himig ng pasasalamat . Sapagkat ang tagumpay na ito ay repleksiyon ng aking pagkato na nagmula sa pasalin-salin na utak ng iba’t ibang nilalang na nagtaguyod ng aking kagalingan. Kaya naman, walang humpay na pagpupugay sa mga likhang naging ugat ng aking tagumpay:

Sa lahat ng mga bumubuo ng pamunuan ng unibersidad na siyang naging pangunahing utak ng bawat tagumpay ng mga mag-aaral;

Sa lahat ng mga guro na lubhang pinatingkad ang halagang edukasyon sa kalipunan ng kanilang mga salita at aral na pawing sandata ng bawat isa laban sa kamangmangan;

Sa akingmga magulang na pinalaki ako ng puno ng pagmamahal at kalingang hindi mababayaran ng kahit na ilang medalyang ginto’t karangalan. Marahil nagtataka kayo na wala man lamang madamdaming kwento ng buhay sa aking talumpati. Sapagkat sa totoo lamang po mapalad ako’t biniyayaan ng mga magulang na kahit kalian ay hindi ako pinaranas ng hirap na tulad ng naransan ng maraming mag-aaral sa ating sintang paaralan. Masasabi kong ang kalibra ng edukasyon na aking natamo ay bunga ng pagsisikap ng aking mga magulang. Ang suporta’t pagmamahal ng aking mga kapamilya ang tunay na nagdala sa akin kung nasaan man ako ngayun. Hindi biro an gang kanilang dinanas na hirap upang tay’y makapag-aral ng mabuti. Kaya inaayayahan ko po ang bawat nagsipagtapos na tumayo upang palakpakan at bigyang pugay natin ang ating mga magulang at kamag-anak na naririto nagyon. “Anumang tagumpay ng anak ay siya ring tagumpay ng kanyang mga magulang.” Sila ay nangarap na tayo’y mabigyan ng magandang edukasyon dahil marahil iyon ay isa sa mga naunsyami nilang pangarap.

Sa aking matalik na kaibigan na naging karamay at sandalan sa sandali ng aking mga kalungkutan at pagluha, sa aking mga kabarkada, mga kamag-aral at kapanalig sa kolehiyo, sa lahat ng mga nagtiwala, umagapay at sumuporta nang walang humapay. Bawat palakpak at pagbati ninyo, katumbas ay ligaya;

At higit sa lahat,sa ating MAHAL NA AMA, sa handog niyang lakas, talino, at walang kaparis na pagmamahal. “Anumang karunungan ko’y kamangmangan lamang sa Kanya at anumang karangalan ko’y hindi makahihigit sa ‘ngalan Niya.”

MABUHAY PO TAYONG LAHAT AT MALIGAYANG PAGTATAPOS!