Maria Ilsea W. Salvador

SALUTATORY ADDRESS
Ateneo de Davao University Commencement Exercises
March 21, 2009

Maria Ilsea W. Salvador
AB Philosophy, cum laude
Salutatorian and Division Awardee
Faith and Justice Awardee

Rev. Fr. Antonio S. Samson of the Society of Jesus, President of the Ateneo de Davao University; Hon. Antonio T. Carpio, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court; Fr. Robert Hogan, of the Society of Jesus, recipient of the Clovis Thibault Award; the Philippine Catholic Lay Mission, recipient of the Drs. Jess & Trining dela Paz Award; Mr. Paul Dominguez, Chairman of the Board of Trustees; members of the Jesuit community, distinguished guests, administrators, mentors, families, friends, my fellow graduates, a pleasant and glorious morning!

In the name of the Graduating Class of 2009 of the Ateneo de Davao University College Unit, it is with great honor and privilege that I welcome everyone to this year’s Commencement Exercises. This ceremony capitulates approximately an average of sixteen years of learning, and consequently, of unlearning, towards total human development and the assurance of a good future. Today’s ceremony is a celebration for having successfully overcome the travails corollary to acquiring a college degree. The journey has been fraught with a smattering of challenges but it has ultimately made the route to this day worth remembering and cherishing.

This formal exercise is an offering to our families, especially our parents who are here today to witness the fulfillment of the goals long since planned and invested in. It is through their love, support, abiding sacrifice, and guidance that we have successfully arrived at this point from which our future is anchored on. As much as the academic struggle has been ours, it is to them that we owe the necessities needed to fuel the quest for an education and a degree.

Graduation is also a passage of time when we recognize and remember the dedication shown by our mentors in leading us to the mental and even practical requisites, so that we can carry ourselves through whatever path we choose to take. We have been given the essentials to venture out and explore the boundaries of knowledge, but the duty of making the most out of this is ours alone.

As this ceremony progresses, tears will probably be shed — for all the memories of the people and experiences gathered through the four, five or more years in college. This event is also a proper occasion to recall those moments. We leave our college life hopefully better and richer in person because of the people we journeyed with and the life-defining experiences we went through.

Rightfully so, this special occasion culminates our stay in the Ateneo de Davao, where we learned the importance of balancing the three important thrusts — academic excellence, spiritual maturity, and of course, social awareness and involvement. Hopefully, all of us do have our reasons to celebrate and be thankful for a well-earned Jesuit education because we have been enthused and motivated to be our better best not just for ourselves and our families, but for the good of the Davaoeños, Mindanaoans, and the rest of the Filipinos.

But more than all these, this important ritual is also for us a moment of thanksgiving to the Lord of All Knowledge and Wisdom, the Lord of History, without whose abiding presence for all human endeavors our journey in this path of life would be meaningless.

After today, we take on different paths. Some of us may pursue further studies, others may join companies, some might take over family businesses, or better yet, join government service and advocate for noble causes. In other words, we become adults in the truest and fittest sense of the word. Wherever our paths may lead us, hopefully we get to live out the essential core values our education has taught us. It is our alma mater’s great hope that we consistently be exemplars in embodying the best of its educational tradition.

Bit by bit, we do our part. Bit by bit, we eventually achieve what we aimed for, and even be transformed by the process into becoming better human beings who will hopefully serve other human beings, driven by a transformative faith that transforms society. We, therefore, celebrate in magnanimity what is rightfully the joy that is ours by graduating today. Let us, the graduating class, bask in this momentous gathering and let our parents, and the whole Ateneo community share in this jubilation.

Today’s program is still young and once again, a wonderful welcome, good morning, and thank you.