Ladies and gentlemen, a pleasant afternoon.
If we were to conduct a background check and investigation of my fellow awardees honored to be the Ten Outstanding Secondary School Students of Iloilo for this school year, we would feel awe as we discover their accomplishments from records and browse over their long lists of worthwhile endeavors in different fields. We would drop our jaws and exclaim, “Wow, so unbelievable!” For this, the high school awardees deserve a round of applause.
However, one fact is more unbelievable --- that a student who is about to finish high school from a state university topped the pack of all-around individuals and has been awarded as the most outstanding, an incredible feat for a school caught “in between.” Most call us public, although we do not take all the scholastic aptitude tests administered in such schools and although we attend classes on Monday holidays when the rest stay home. Then a few would consider us as private; yet our school does not participate in the sports and literary-musical events of private schools and our students seldom take part in seminars and camps intended for them.
During the first time I visited the OSCI blog and did my own background checking of the past number one’s of this annual search, I myself was intimidated. What made me more intimidated was my familiarity with the other contenders. Fortunately, I was able to transform these trepidations into motivations to aim for this spot and rely on my abilities, into self-confidence to prepare thoughts and points I would share with you this afternoon before the official release of this year’s OSCI search results. With the help of the Divine Providence, I have become the living testimony that this triumph of a state university’s high school student is indeed not unbelievable, just highly improbable.
Student life can be likened to a house of many doors. These doors are knocked upon by so-called opportunities. We may opt to open the door for one, take a peek at some, and totally shun others. Honestly, my student life is a house with unopened doors. Due to circumstances, I was not able to unlock several doors, doors which could have allowed me to move out of my house and explore other aspects of the world. Four years back when I was in sixth grade, I was qualified for the Mathematics Trainers Guild National Training Program at Tagaytay. Attending that program could have enticed other opportunities to knock at my doors. Going to Tagaytay could have brought me to distant borders where I could have sharpened my mathematical skill. Unfortunately, I failed to go.
Another opportunity tapped on one of my doors late October of 2009. It came in the form of a package that included a letter informing me that I was invited as a Filipino delegate to the People to People Leadership Program in the US. I was willfully eager to swing my door and open it wide so that I could grab this chance of visiting and learning at Washington, DC. It was a once-in-a-lifetime knock, for that kind of program was open to high school students exclusively. Because of factors beyond my control, the door was left ajar until it slowly moved and snapped shut. CLOSED.
These and other missed opportunities have left my house and my student life and I can only speculate on the mysteries behind those unopened doors. My mind was crammed with all sorts of “if only’s”. If only I went there…if only I was able to make it. That mindset of mine persisted until I brought home from a science contest in Manila a box labeled Today’s Advice containing everyday wisdom for everyone. On a cold morning in November last year, Today’s Advice read: “To be happy, drop the words if only and substitute instead the words next time” by Dr. Smiley Blanton. That supposedly ordinary morning shifted my mindset. It dawned on me that I have been a man walking through the gaps of the past and the dark shadows of the unknown. My mentality took a leap. I had learned to use the past to my advantage: to live in the present with the past as a compass for the future. Now, as a cream of the crop, I can say that I am armed with the weapons I collected from the past and I am ready to face the uncertain future. I gained the courage to step out of my hut and come back in as a more fortified person.
We, this year’s high school awardees, have our own share of doors and corresponding opportunities. More prospects that accompany this title conferred to us will surely turn up. Fellow awardees, this award we have just received will be an addition to our collection of medals and array of plaques. This title is truly unique for it has inspired us to add the touch of passion to our endeavors. This award may serve as a memorabilia of our struggles to be called Outstanding Students. But more than that, may it also be a symbol of three virtues I have acquired from my high school. First, may the structure of this strap exemplify the timelessness and continuity of service we must all render for the benefit not of the self but of others: the community, the nation, and the world. Second, may the luster of this medal typify the standard of excellence we ought to maintain. May it drive us to aspire high benchmarks and give our best in all pursuits. Lastly, may the solidity of those plaques signify indestructible honor, a kind of honor that seeks to preserve integrity above all costs, that is valued highly and points to the right direction in the quest for excellence and service. Together, let us live up and practice these virtues so as to become foundations of a better, more progressive nation. Let us utilize honor, excellence, and service in harmony with one another such that in today’s word of mayhem, we light up as hopes by being catalysts of opportunities for change.
Just as no TV icon would shine without any sponsors, I would have not reached this far without the guidance of the people who have always been supporting me and reaching out a hand to help me in any way they can. To my coaches in this search as well as the UPHSI Student Council Advisers, who have contributed much to the honing of my leadership capacity, Prof. Dominique Maquiran and Prof. Dolores Jardeleza, to another coach in this search as well as in math competitions, Prof. Raphael Belleza, to the UP High School in Iloilo faculty and staff for producing breeds of outstanding students through the decades, to my mother and my father for their care and understanding, my family, my IV-Narra classmates for your patience whenever I ask about schoolwork I missed because of inter-school activities, and to UPHSI Batch 2011, a thousand thanks.
To the staff of the UPV Office of Continuing Education and Pahinungod, for the time and effort you shared in my application to different student searches, the SPED – Integrated School for Exceptional Children, the Alma Mater that first unleashed my hidden potentials, a big thanks.
In behalf of all the awardees, I express my gratitude to all the teachers, school administrators, heads, and coaches for doing your part in the continual empowerment of today’s generation to grow into the responsible movers and leaders of tomorrow. To the Outstanding Student Circle of Iloilo, thank you for sending a ripple of difference to the world. And to God, the Great Omnipotent Divine, a million thanks for your shower of blessings every day of our lives.Exactly a week from now is the deadline of confirmation to enroll in a university at Diliman. Another opportunity knocking, I guess. Should I open the door soon, later, or not at all? May God help us make the right choices with regard our respective doors. May the choice be with you. Once again, good afternoon. @
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