The Message to the Graduates that follows was delivered by UA&P President Dr. Winston Conrad B. Padojinog on August 26, 2024, at the Plenary Hall of the PICC during the 29th Graduation Rites of the University of Asia and the Pacific.
Last June, I attended a graduation ceremony, where one of the speakers briefly touched on the idea of writing our own stories. Though he spent most of his time discussing global business careers and entrepreneurship, that brief mention got me to reflect on my own story. Seated beside my wife, I envisioned our story as a great love tale. Just as I was savoring this thought, my mobile phone vibrated, alerting me about my upcoming credit card bills. Well, I told myself, the bills were part of my story too.
Today, we celebrate not only the conclusion of your college or graduate student life but the beginning of a new chapter in your lives. Ahead of you are the blank pages that give you the power to write a story uniquely your own, one that reflects your dreams, struggles, and successes.
Your college and grad student years were regimented by syllabi, papers, and deadlines. Now, you are the main protagonist in your own story. Sooner or later, some of your stories might start with “Once upon a time, there was a graduate who did not pass his first interview.” That’s perfectly okay. Many great stories have humble beginnings. J.K. Rowling wrote Harry Potter on napkins in a café, and J.R.R. Tolkien began “The Hobbit” in the 1930s while administering an exam. He found a blank page in one of the exam booklets and started scribbling “In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit…”
Ahead of you are the blank pages that give you the power to write a story uniquely your own, one that reflects your dreams, struggles, and successes.
Graduates, I am confident that your holistic UA&P education has equipped you to reach your full potential and bring you closer to your dreams and aspirations – to the life stories you envision. The knowledge and skills you have gained will help you craft an exceptional life story.
There will come a day when you will look back at your stories and realize that the best ones are those with unexpected twists and turns in their plots. These moments make life interesting, worth living, and sharing.
I know of an alumna who, after graduating in an Education course, started teaching children with special needs. She then realized she could help these kids even more by becoming a pediatric psychiatrist. Now, she is doing her medical internship. In the last few months, I met many alumni who are now top-notch senior management executives, entrepreneurs, government officials, and parents. They have become captains of industries and leaders of their institutions and communities. Their stories have evolved through perseverance and growth.
Remember, your stories won’t always be perfect. You will make mistakes while writing your stories, so edit them with patience, optimism, and hope. Be prepared for rewrites, and stay humble, grateful, and always full of hope. You will need them to help and guide you through the bad first drafts of your story.
Every story has characters, and your story is no different. Acknowledge those who have contributed to your education in one way or another: mentors, teachers, staff, and house help, among many others. A UA&P Dragon’s aspirations must go beyond pursuing just one’s dreams. Serve others with the same hope and joy you seek for yourself.
However, to serve society, you must have the knowledge, skills, and mindset attuned to the times and relevant to the needs of people. Times are uncertain. The outlook is ambiguous, and the rapid shift toward digital technology and artificial intelligence amplifies these uncertainties and ambiguities. Professions and their needs will change. Some jobs and businesses will disappear. How do we cope when it is so hard to write stories because the setting keeps changing?
Recently, I passed through the corridor of a casino hotel after watching the concert of the Apo Hiking Society. For the Gen Z’s here, you may ask Siri or Google Assistant what the Apo Hiking Society is. Mind you, it is not a mountaineering club that climbs Mt. Apo.
While passing by the corridor, I saw players betting on the Wheel of Fortune, which is a large vertical wheel that can be spun. It is played by placing bets on which segment the players think the wheel will stop. Each segment has a specific payout value. The dealer spins the wheel. When the wheel stops, the segment it lands on determines the outcome. If the wheel lands on the segment the players bet on, they win according to the payout for that segment. If not, they lose the bet.
But our life story is more than the outcomes spun out by the wheel of fortune, dictated by odds beyond our control. Yes, there will be uncertainties and ambiguities that can make us anxious about the future. But we should never allow these odds to dictate the outcomes of our stories.
Remember, your stories won’t always be perfect. You will make mistakes while writing your stories, so edit them with patience, optimism, and hope.
While examining the Wheel of Fortune, I observed an area on the wheel that is never affected by the outcomes. And it is the center of the wheel. Regardless of outcomes, it remains constant. Well, how we deal with an uncertain future will depend on one thing alone: where we set our life stories – at the periphery or the center of the wheel of life? To successfully navigate the ups and downs of life, we need to stay at the center. How?
As you progress in your professional life and acquire more knowledge and skills, always center yourself on the Truth and the Good. Here is where UA&P’s genuine integral formation grounded on liberal education as a foundation for the professions becomes indispensable. Liberal education empowers us to navigate uncertainties, embrace lifelong learning, and adapt to new challenges and opportunities.
Remain steadfast in uncovering, discovering, and pursuing the truth. Challenge the falsehoods that attempt to deceive us. With so much disinformation, uncover the truth. It requires effort, critical thinking, and a deep curiosity to question the stories we encounter.
However, the pursuit of truth alone is not enough. We must also strive for the good—the foundation that directs our actions beyond ourselves and ultimately shapes our stories. It is in pursuing the good that our stories expand, merging with the stories of others, giving more meaning to our lives. Ultimately, pursuing and living the Truth and the Good calls for placing God in the center of your life, your life stories. It’s because God is the Truth and the Good.
So, Class of 2024, now you are ready to start writing your epic stories. Your story begins now. Congratulations, and thank you.
Banner photo by Patrick Fore on Unsplash.
Leave a Reply