A pleasant afternoon…

Quite many years have passed, 24 years to be exact, since I was in the same shoes as you are right now, listening to the commencement speaker, with different feelings –bored mostly, a little inspired maybe, and excited for the ceremony to be over.

When I received the invitation to speak before you, this year’s grade school graduating class, I had mixed emotions. I felt glad, thinking that I have accomplished something to warrant an invitation to be acommencement speaker. I felt excited coming back to the school where I spent 12 years of my life – from junior prep to high school although this is a different campus. we were at the la purisima campus then. I felt worried and apprehensive that I would not be able to do what a commencement speaker should do, to inspire and motivate. Also, I was at a loss as to what to say, where to begin and how to end. But, realizing that overthinking would not bring results, I looked at the invitation letter and read it again.

In tHE Letter, your principal Ma’am Liza Garrido wrote: “With the school’s mission of forming young men and women working for and with others in the context of excellence, spirituality and engaged citizenship, the graduates will eventually gain insights on your personal experiences as a successful military officer and a female PMA alumna..”

Then I thought, I can easily list down some experiences, the funny ones, the difficult ones, the horrifying ones, but definitely all were learning experiences. However, the difficulty would be in how these experiences would be able to inspire, motivate or provide insights to all of you and how these can be put in the context of excellence, spirituality and engaged citizenship.

There I go, overthinking again. so, Let me go back a little down memory lane.

My elder brother belonged to the last batch of all boys class and I was supposed to be with the first batch of coed but according to my mother, I refused to be enrolled for reasons I cannot remember. It was only a year later that I wanted to go to school.

Fast forward to high school, I belonged to the second batch of coed class. It was in my fourth year in high school when we began preparing for our college entrance exams. I only took two entrance exams, one is for the University of the Philippines and the other one is for the Philippine Military Academy. I passed both exams but my desire to serve God, our country, and the people through the military was my more dominant feeling.

I know that my parents were hesitant to allow me to enter the military service but THEY supported me anyway in my decision. Maybe they were just afraid that only a week after graduating from high school, their teenage daughter will be on her own undergoing a rigid life, training to become a military officer.

Some of you may have heard OF the news that in the recent PMA graduation, 8 out of the top 10 GRADUATES were female. I belong to the earlier batch of co-ed cadets and it was really challenging to be in an organization that is dominated mostly by males. Out of the 139 of my classmates, only 10 of us WERe female.

Expectations to excel were very high. I chose to join the Philippine Army upon graduation because i know that is my calling. Contrary to what many people believe, your Army is not just about guns and fighting the enemies. I belong with the Army Engineers. And our job is to bring development to far away places that are difficult to reach.

There was a time when I was assigned in the Visayas, particularly in Bohol. I was given a task to lead a team for a construction project. The project was an opening of a farm-to-market road in one of the remote barangays. we haD to be under the heat of the sun and had to work fast but not sacrificing the quality of our work.

we always haD to do our best and offer only our best service. We haD to build a road in order for the farmers to have direct access to the market. Their products will not have to travel far and EXPERIENCE difficultY in order to reach the market and the consumers.

When the road project was finally completed and was turned over to the people of that barangay, I cannot forget the expression of happiness that I saw in the faces of the local people. In return, we too were very happy to have served the people who deserve our best services.

there was another time when i was assigned in cebu that i attended a turnover ceremony for a one-classroom school building that we built. it was quite far and we haD to walk more than an hour, climbing through the rough roads, going up the mountains just to reach our destination.

upon reaching the area and seeing all the children excited with their new classroom, i too became excited. The children in that areA were finally having their own classroom and will not have to walk quite the distance just to be in school. i saw in them the eagerness to learn and how they value education. The feeling we have when we accomplish something like thEsEthings is worth more than the awards and recognitions that we receive.

in my line of work, I have travelLed far to luzon, visayas, and mindanao. i am glad that i got the chance to meet a lot of people from different places with different cultures. i have learned that despite the differences, we are one as filipinos hoping to have a better place to live - a harmonious and peaceful home for everyone. there is hope for all of us and I see a brighter future for all of you.

to the graduates, congratulations! your graduation is just a beginning of a new journey in your life. remember to always aim for excellence, and believe in yourself, that you can and will be better than what you are right now.

to the parents, guardians, and all the persons instrumental in the success of our graduates, thank you for supporting our children in the pursuit of their dreams.

fly high and soar high! thank you and good afternoon.

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