| CEAT Testimonial Program, Valedictory Address Ma. Victoria P. Migo 2008 CEAT Testimonial Program I would like to acknowledge Ms Maoi Arroyo as an inspiration for this speech. I would also like to acknowledge the following persons for criticizing/editing my valedictory address: Dr. Catalino Alfafara, and Mr. Johnny Goloyugo (ATM – S, Toastmasters Club) | Time limit: 15 minutes Dr. Victor Ella, Dr. Jovita Movillon, Dr. Ernesto Lozada, CEAT faculty and staff, family and friends, good morning. In behalf of the graduating engineering students, I would like to thank and honor our college: CEAT, our individual departments, the faculty, staff, and the teachers. For all these years, you have been guiding us through our journey as engineering students. And we owe you more than just our diplomas, but our lives as well. Why don’t we give our college a round of applause? We are so proud to belong in CEAT. Every time someone asks us our course, we see to it that we emphasize the word “engineering”, as if it gives us some kind of title, an authority to boast. Yet, what people don’t know about us is that, inside the classrooms we are greatly humbled by the lessons. Nevertheless, we had our teachers, our mentors, who did not stand from a distance but partnered with us through our learning. And even if they have squeezed every ounce of energy through the mental exercises, we are so grateful for their dedication. With that, we would like to extend our gratitude, let’s give our professors another round of applause. For our family and friends, thank you for being supportive, for understanding our struggles as engineering students. Sometimes, we had tantrums, we kept on zoning out, and a lot of times we seemed to be getting weirder and weirder each semester. But this is all because we were thinking hard, so hard that our minds reach another dimension, thank you for pulling us back to reality…with your love. Why don’t we give this people a round of applause? Personally, I would like to thank Sigma Delta Phi Sorority for the award for academic excellence. Now that we are ready to take off from the university, there will be a lot of changes and challenges as well. When before, we can hide under the comfort of LB, our campus, soon we are going to tread risky waters full of uncertainties. There are a lot of reasons why we should fear the future and the world outside. First, we have so many crises including rice and food in general. Second, we don’t know whether we’ll get the career and the lifestyle we are aiming for. Even so, because we are from UP, and engineering graduates to add, I see there’s not much problem with that. Finally, the world outside is full of malice: bribery, politics, and other compromises. Nevertheless, we should leave this university not with fear but with conviction. Instead of being bamboos which are easily swayed by the wind, we are called to be concretes, with a tensile strength strong enough to hold against the pressure. Instead of being influenced by the desolation, the desperation outside, we should influence them with our youthful vigor, with our light. This is a call to revolution. So how do we do this? As engineers, we are always looking for a formula or a step by step methodology to tackle problems. First, do no harm. How will you know if you’re doing something bad? Ask yourself this question: will I tell my parents about this? Will I let my future children do the same things? If you think you cannot add to the goodness in the world, at least don’t add to the evil. Second, do much good. Seize the opportunity to do good works. Don’t ever get tired of being a good person. Do good even if you’re not going to be credited for it, because surely somebody in heaven is taking notes. Be an unsung hero. Third, operate out of stewardship. That money you are accumulating for yourself does not belong to you; but it was only loaned to you. This goes for our other possessions, even with our personal talents as well. Therefore, share it. I see nothing wrong with the desire to get rich. But for everything that we acquire, something must be given away. I remember our beloved Sir Valencia saying: “it’s bad for the body to just eat and eat, without discharging. The material will either find other inconvenient ways out of the body; or it will be stored as fat.” In the same way, I believe this principle could be applied with our material possessions and talents. If go unshared, our money and talents may turn against us. Fourth, embrace opportunity. Maging madiskarte tayo. The nation needs pioneers—people who are not afraid to swim unmapped oceans. We should not only be opportunity takers—but we should be opportunity makers. If we see a potential in something, like a technology, let’s not be afraid to pursue it. Failure does not mean our creator has abandoned us, He just wants us to come up with a better idea. There’s a saying which goes something like, “luck comes to those who prepare.” I would like to make a parallel saying which goes, “opportunity comes to those who persevere.” With that, I would like to boast to you of my batchmates in chemeng. I have batchmates who literally plunged into cow stomach just to get anaerobic bacteria, I have batchmates who grew algae in Gatorade bottles, and when there is no equipment around, they carry gallons of god-knows-what material to Biotech, riding the crowded biotech bus, disrupting the peace there. True enough, being the pioneers and persevering in their theses, they opened opportunities not only for themselves, but also for the next batch of theses students. Fifth, be the change you want to see in the world. Seriously, let’s stop our whining. If want change, it should start with us. If we want to see a cleaner environment, then we should have the discipline to throw our trash properly. If we want a better government, then we should have integrity as well. We cannot expect them to change before we do—we should be the initiators. And if they won’t follow, it doesn’t mean that we should fall back to our old ways, it just means that we have more authority to teach them a lesson… more authority to complain. Do no harm, do much good, operate out of stewardship, embrace opportunity, be the change you want to see in the world. The formula does not provide an absolute solution. But it’s still much much much better than being swayed by the world outside. Being engineers does not exclude us from being social workers. And it’s not just a social responsibility that we must uphold, more importantly, it’s a moral responsibility. Let us prepare ourselves. They’re not going to pamper us out there. Struggling to be good when everyone’s doing bad can be frustrating. Upholding a standard of excellence when being surrounded by mediocrity can be frustrating. Loving your country when everyone’s hating it can be frustrating. But that’s exactly what we are called for: to do good amidst evil, to excel amidst mediocrity, to love our country in its most unlovable state. Let’s do our best! Godspeed! |
