Dr. Genevieve Ledesma-Tan, Chief Executive Mentor; Dr. Marl Ferenal, President; members of the management; honorable guest speaker Ambassador Delia Albert; our beloved professors, our dear parents, friends; and my fellow graduates, a pleasant day to all!

Let me begin with a story. There was a shopkeeper who was struggling to stay in business. He went to a monk for advice. He said to him, “I’ve been working so hard for so long, but I feel like I’m getting nowhere. Why shouldn’t I just give up?”

The monk took him outside and said, “Look at the fern and the bamboo. I planted them both at the same time. The fern grew immediately. But the bamboo took five years to begin to sprout. But once it did, it grew fast, big and strong. In six months, it had grown higher than the walls. Like the bamboo, you have been growing roots that will sustain you. If you give up now, all your work will have been for nothing.”

To my fellow monarchs: we are just like the bamboo. All of us have begun to sprout into individuals with potential—all because of determination. Today, we celebrate the good choice we’ve made: to graduate in spite of the obstacles.

Our Alma Mater has prepared us. Always live by the 5 Cs of a true Monarch— competence, character, creativity, collaboration and commitment to achieve. The 5C’s we have learned in the classrooms of Southville lead our paths to success.

INDEED, thank you, Southville.

Let us thank OUR PARENTS and GUARDIANS for the love, care and support. TO MYPARENTS, you’ve never given up on me. Thank you for the hardships you had to endure.

LET US ALSO THANK our BENEFACTORS. To Dr. Genevieve Ledesma-Tan and the Scholarship Committee, headed by Dr. Remedios Lagera, words are not enough to thank you for the trust and for the gift of education. One day, I will pay forward the same kindness and generosity. Forever, I am grateful.

To the deans and chairpersons, in my case, Professor Ruel Cajili, you have become a source of wisdom and encouragement. Thank you so much.

And to all the PROFESSORS, our teachers, our MENTORS, thank you for believing in us, especially in those times we lost faith in ourselves. You HELPED us BOUNCE BACK, RE- FOCUS and PERSIST.

MY dear fellow graduates, THIS IS THE JUST A PART of our RACE in LIFE. We WON. WE have conquered all those stressful days and nights studying for EXAMS, THESIS, PRESENTATIONS.

Now, I challenge you to keep on fighting. To keep the faith. And to keep on living the 5 C’s. Touch people’s lives. Create a change. MAKE A DIFFERENCE. Make our Alma Mater proud.

Congratulations and more power to class 2015!

And to the world, three words: HERE. WE. COME.