Good evening.

I have the honour to speak on behalf of all the parents here tonight, and to
represent some of our thoughts and reflections on the happy occasion of seeing our sons and
daughters graduate from college.
Today, I now feel what must have been felt by my own parents when I was graduating from
college. I am now a parent of one of the graduating students, our very dear Dwayne Tristan,
whom I consider one of the precious gifts of God to us.
I could say that if others think that the most important lessons in life were learned when they
were in kindergarten, these are better learned in college. There is greater consciousness of
the choices. The lessons are more lasting. The relationships are more meaningful. Dreams
become more realistic. Ambitions are more tangible. Morals are more concrete. Virtues and
values are clearer. Choices become more definitive and predictive of what one becomes.
That is why the choice of school for college education matters. The Vision and Mission of a
school matter. The professional competence of teachers matters. It is because our children’s
views of the world and of their lives depend on how these have been introduced to them as
they were growing up. What they will do to themselves and to the society where they will be
would somehow be some reflections of how they had been raised.
Actually, he first enrolled his chosen course in Cagayan de Oro City. But after a year, my son
could not take the life away from us. So, he decided to transfer to the best engineering school
in the city and supported that decision.
Today as he is about to graduate from college, I can’t help but feel proud of our son. He gave
his best. We never pressured him to do so. Dwayne, I am so proud of you. Continue to do the
good things and never stop dreaming. Focus on your goal of becoming the best of your
chosen career.
Dear teachers, for four years, our son has been under your maternal and paternal care. In
behalf of my fellow parents, I thank you most sincerely for teaching our children the
necessary skills and competencies for them to hurdle a more challenging level of education. I
thank you for teaching them about values and morals, discipline and order, perseverance and
hard work, consistency and determination, care and responsibility, spirituality and excellence.
Parents like me who are so busy with work and responsibilities may, at times, forget our
children’s needs, especially at their most confusing moments and teenage adventurism.
Thanks to the teachers who are more than eyes and ears of parents. Through you, we are
able to know our children better. Through you, we discover and hone their strengths,
interests, skills, talents, and directions. Thank you so much Teachers and staffs.
Our dear children, as you are about to graduate from college, remember, there’s no such
thing as success in life. Medals, citations, awards don’t make a man. It is the heart and soul
that know how to love, to give importance, to give the best, to be compassionate, to be
humble that make a man. It is the person who recognizes that God is the ultimate source of
all the giftedness in him. When you would have become professionals yourselves, make a
positive difference in the society.
And so our dear children, be instruments of change for the better. Explore the world, make
the right, responsible choices. Be meaningful in your lives. Live for others.
Good luck and God bless all of you. Congratulations! Thank you and To God be all the Glory!