Valedictory Adress of Ms Reynarose Cerquis
75th Commencement Exercises
Xavier University-Ateneo de Cagayan
27 March 2014

To our beloved University President, Fr Roberto C Yap SJ, Hon. Corazon Juliano-Soliman, Secretary, Department of Social Welfare and Development, Hon. Ma Isabelle Climaco-Salazar, Mayor, Zamboanga City, Mr Lutgardo Labad, Musical and Theatrical Director, Administrators, Faculty and Staff of this prestigious university, our dear parents, and to my fellow graduates, good morning!

First of all, I would like to attest that we would not be here today if not for the concerted support given to each of us. So, today, allow us to acknowledge and celebrate the guidance, the help and supervision of our teachers, our mentors, advisers, our counselors, our guides, the various XU staff, our family members, even significant others, and all our friends. Most of all, we, graduates, would like to take this opportunity to congratulate our parents—they have not only given us life but have worked hard and sacrificed a lot to send us to Xavier University. Let us give them all a warm round of applause.

So, we gather today to celebrate a momentous occasion. After years of struggling through college, we have finally surpassed its trials. No wonder I see before me the excited and victorious faces of young people ready to set the world on fire! But let us remember, there are far greater things not seen by our naked eyes. As Jesuit Father Rudy Fernandez said in one recollection: “Reality is much more than what we can see.”

It’s not easily seen, for example, but each of us had a long and sometimes bumpy journey before finally making it to this academic convocation. Life events, some major, some minor, have molded us. Some of us may have stopped for a year or two due to financial problems. Some may have extended a semester or more because of grades. Some struggled with all they can to make it in just four or five years. Honor students or not, each of us have had a share of mistakes and failures during these past years.

We are like the donkey in the story entitled The Donkey in the Well. There may have been times when we felt useless because every move we did seemed to end in failure. There may have been times when we felt we were such losers because every effort we gave seemed always lacking. Like the donkey covered with dirt, there may have been times when we have been blemished by all kinds of mistakes but we were able to wash them off and, instead, transformed them into stepping stones to continue on our journey. Even if we sometimes fell into deep wells in our lives, what enabled us to climb out was the fact that we did not stop trying! We never gave up! We re-focused on our goals and stood up from past mistakes. We learned from them and allowed them to transform us for the better.

Then, looking back through these last years, we witnessed storms that led to floods, earthquakes that led to vast destruction that included heritage structures and hard-earned properties. We struggled against disasters—both natural and man-made—but despite all these, we managed to be resilient, and people from all over the world hailed the resilience of the Filipino!

Resiliency has become one of our best qualities.  In the aftermath of typhoon Sendong, we demonstrated resiliency by being true to the call to be persons-for-others. Though many of us were victims ourselves of the typhoon, we managed to step out of self-pity to help and be involved in the University’s Tabang Sendong operations. As we embraced our own pain, we learned compassion. During this past school year, we demonstrated the same compassion for our fellow Filipinos in the aftermath of the siege and flooding in Zamboanga, the earthquake in Bohol, and the super typhoon that flattened Tacloban and other parts of the Visayas. Some faculty members and student volunteers even went to both Bohol and Tacloban City to serve survivors.  Resiliency brought us together as a University and as a nation.  However, that reality points to “much more than what we can see.”  It was our faith in God, our sense of compassion, and our becoming persons-for-others that influenced our ability to bounce back stronger and wiser from crises.  For all these lessons learned, we are grateful to Xavier University.    

Now, it is not enough that we learned to adapt to misfortunes. Each one of us should take part in preventing disasters from happening in the first place. Hence, resiliency should also mean preparedness and responsibility. Some disasters we can prevent through professional competence.     

So what does it take to be resilient these days? There are many ways. As educators, we can make use of our training and talents to enrich the K-12 curriculum which aims to develop more globally competitive and responsible citizens of the world. As engineers, we can skillfully design and build infrastructures that can withstand hazards and risks. As doctors and nurses, we can truly practice Cura Personalis. As accountants and businessmen, we can opt for more conscientious profit and benefit sharing. As agriculturists, we can practice sustainable systems that nurture an abundance of clean and green produce while caring for the environment. As computer programmers, we can develop applications that will advocate the pursuit of truth through greater transparency and accountability.  Our Xavier education has prepared us well to accomplish all these and more.
    
At Xavier, we were also taught to commit ourselves to social change, to be “men and women for others.” Today, for those of us joining the workforce, we take the challenge to become socially responsible professionals.  

Finally, Xavier taught us to value the Ignatian ideal, “MAGIS,” to do more or, to passionately pursue whatever will contribute more to the greater good of all. We cannot afford to be complacent.  True to the mission and vision of our alma mater, the world is counting not only on our professional skills and abilities, but also on our conscience, our sense of compassion, and on our commitment. So, my fellow graduates, let us set this world on fire, ablaze with our love of God. Let us set this world on fire, ablaze with our compassion especially for the poor and suffering. Lastly, let us set this world on fire, ablaze with our commitment to social transformation.

We have created the spark. We have enkindled the flame. Let us continue setting it ablaze.

Congratulations BATCH 2014!  Thank you and God bless us all!