Address of Gratitude

Our honorable guest of honor and speaker, members of the Board of Regents, university officials, members of the faculty and staff, fellow graduates of batch 2015, parents, guests, visitors, friends, ladies and gentlemen, a momentous afternoon.Today isnt yet the finish point in relation to the so called lifes book fully written with our different accounts of stories, but only a newly finished chapter of it. Its been a while when we entered the portals of academe. We didnt even know where this episode of journey could bring us. We searched for answers but where in fact the answers we were looking for could only be found in our hands. It seems that end result of every lifes battle and one of these is academics is centered with our own directions. We should exert efforts to control the way towards achieving the epitome of fulfillment at the end of the crossroads. In behalf of our batch, I say to all of you that we made it all extraordinary through our different ways as we are now finally here rejoicing this significant milestone. Lets take a glance to the days we went to school with empty pockets just to avoid absences. We even tried not to buy and eat food for lunch just to spend it for a photocopy of a lecture note to serve as a reviewer for quizzes and examination or to spend it for books and projects. There were the sleepless nights paid attention in preparation for theoretical tests, feasibility studies, theses, reports and other school related projects and activities. There were also the times when we sacrificed our academic issues to fulfill our pledged duties inside and outside the school especially to the case of student leaders and student writers. But despite of all these challenges we encountered for the past four years or more, we did to surpass all these challenges because of our enthusiasm to triumph the battle from start until end. This day is much-awaited for us graduates as it marks the fruit of our hardships, sacrifices, determination, and perseverance; our reward of burning the midnight oil to accomplish college academic life with smile and pride. Lets give ourselves a resounding applause for a job well done! In every story, we as main character of our own, we met people. There are some who come and go, and there are some stay beside us who served as our instrument of inspiration and strength to fight all the challenges that come along our way. They are very instrumental in our lives in helping us reached our goals. With them, we turned difficulties into possibilities. We all know that saying Thank you is not enough to pay back all of their sacrifices. But at this moment thats all we can do. First, lets give thanks our parents and guardians for their untiring support to send us in school despite of never-ending challenges. They are the very resilient people we ever know as they could even turn nights into working days just to suffice our day-to-day school needs and other basic needs. They are our bankers, values teachers, and most of all our number one supporters may we win or lose in whatever battle of life we come across. Second, give thanks our mentors who served as our parents in the academe for their patience and dedication in educating us essential matters when it comes to our respective specializations. They are the one who keep on believing in our capabilities and skills, and who always inspire us in order to surpass the pressure of academic life and for us to be the best we want to be for ourselves. With that, they molded us into better individuals, to be highly competent and morally upright professionals in the labor market one of these days. Third, to our classmates and friends who are always with us in times of happiness and sadness. With their shared versions of experiences in life we used them as an inspiration. Above all, remember to thank God for always joining us in every journey we take and for making all things possible. With Him, we learned that if problem is as big as a ship, solution is as wide as an ocean.Dear friends, its a realization that we will not see some of them for a long period of time as each one of us will go on separate ways in pursuing our dreams in life. Lets cherish this moment and lets seize this chance to thank all of them for them to feel how we really love them too. To all of your undying love and support, we will never forget. A billion thanks. You all deserved a salute! Now that we are stepping a new milestone, lets have its composition the best among others. We must instill in our minds that what we should dream of is what we want other people should remember of us, and not what other people could remember out of us. As what Harold R. McAlindon once said and I quote, Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail. We shouldnt be afraid to take the path we aspire to take on and not following the path other people want for us to take on. Lets always aim high and follow our dreams as we dont know whats infront of us if we dont step out of our comfort zone. Its better to try and grab the chance than never. If we failed, lets stand. I do believe that failure also defines success. Its because failure is a stepping stone towards success. We will never learn if we will never fail. If we never learned, we will never change for good. We can use this good change as a weapon for us to succeed. So lets face and create another exciting, nerve-wracking, and more challenging chapter of our book. But for now, lets enjoy the moment. Congratulations and happy graduation to all of us! Kudos and God bless batch 2015! Mabuhay tayong lahat!