I delivered this speech on July 23, 2010 during our Recognition Day on Francisco Balagtas Auditorium at Malayan Colleges, Laguna.
David Cook of American Idol once said, “If you don’t dream big, then what’s the use of dreaming?”
Good afternoon everyone. It’s a great honour and privilege to be speaking in front of you once again. About a year ago, at this very spot, I shared with you my hopes and dreams of becoming Engr. Neory T. Mangaliman someday. Today, I am another year closer to that goal.
I’ve been here at Malayan Colleges Laguna for two years already, and I must tell that it hasn’t been that easy. Compared to my freshman life, my second year here in MCL is much harder, tiring, and straining. I had lots of math, physics, and chemistry courses. The trials of being a student sank in almost immediately. I started to really realize what it takes to pursue a dream like this. I have experienced working ‘til midnight for a course requirement, accidentally sleeping in some of my classes because of lack of sleep, rushing to do a supposedly homework before the class starts, and of course, the legendary cramming before an exam starts. Thanks to these experiences, I can now say that I have at least grasped the art of pretending to be awake when you are actually asleep. I definitely mean no disrespect to my professors, but if there is one thing that I learned in my two years here it’s that it takes more than booksmarts to survive college; most of the time, you have to learn how to adapt and use the most of what you have.
In our classes, we are always told to do our best, but we are also reminded that our grades do not measure our intelligence. For me, grades measure how much time and effort you give and how much you value the people around you who have sacrificed so much for your chance at a good education, and later a good life. I don’t have skyrocketing IQ. I am not a bookworm either. I was just doing my best. Being a full scholar, without having to pay my tuition fee, is a great blessing already. I am doing this to make my parents proud of me. They were laid off last January 2009 because of the global economic crisis. Our family had to tighten our budget. Together with my four siblings, you can just imagine how much it takes for my parents to send us all in good schools.
When I was young, they told me how much of a blessing I am to them. In reality, it is I who is blessed with having so wonderful parents, who have given so much and asked for so little. To everyone here, we should never forget the people around us. To my parents, mommy, daddy, again I thank you for everything that you’ve done for me. I also want to thank my Ninang Elvie and Nanay Azon for always being there, supporting me and cheering for me. To my awesome friends, thank you very much. You have been my partners since day one. I am blessed with people who are not only my biggest supporters, but also my very present help in times of need. To some of them here, I share my victory with you.
To my professors, thank you for sharing your knowledge and wisdom with me and to the rest of the students here at MCL. When I was tormented between pursuing ECE or shifting to ChE, you were there to give me advice and help me weigh my options. I would like to give special thanks to Sir Monterey, for showing how much fun Chemistry is, also to Sir Tablante, for letting me have a gauge of what ECE is all about, and to Sir Del Pilar, for letting me into the world of electricity and magnetism for a term. Soon, I realized that the electronic world is not for me. Now, I am a part of the ChE family.
To some people, dreams are what they tell themselves every night to convince them that tomorrow will be better. For me, my dream is an inevitability. With hardwork, perseverance, love, and support from my family, teachers, and friends, and ultimately, guidance from God, I have no doubt that better things are yet to come. If I can do this, you can also do this. For now, we are all holding on to our dreams, but someday, in God’s own time, they will come true. Today, being an engineer is my dream. Someday, this dream will be my reality. Once again, a pleasant afternoon to everyone. Thank you and may God bless us all.
Credits to Meg Anne Santos and Ms. Joahna Eduarte for this wonderful speech.
David Cook of American Idol once said, “If you don’t dream big, then what’s the use of dreaming?”
Good afternoon everyone. It’s a great honour and privilege to be speaking in front of you once again. About a year ago, at this very spot, I shared with you my hopes and dreams of becoming Engr. Neory T. Mangaliman someday. Today, I am another year closer to that goal.
I’ve been here at Malayan Colleges Laguna for two years already, and I must tell that it hasn’t been that easy. Compared to my freshman life, my second year here in MCL is much harder, tiring, and straining. I had lots of math, physics, and chemistry courses. The trials of being a student sank in almost immediately. I started to really realize what it takes to pursue a dream like this. I have experienced working ‘til midnight for a course requirement, accidentally sleeping in some of my classes because of lack of sleep, rushing to do a supposedly homework before the class starts, and of course, the legendary cramming before an exam starts. Thanks to these experiences, I can now say that I have at least grasped the art of pretending to be awake when you are actually asleep. I definitely mean no disrespect to my professors, but if there is one thing that I learned in my two years here it’s that it takes more than booksmarts to survive college; most of the time, you have to learn how to adapt and use the most of what you have.
In our classes, we are always told to do our best, but we are also reminded that our grades do not measure our intelligence. For me, grades measure how much time and effort you give and how much you value the people around you who have sacrificed so much for your chance at a good education, and later a good life. I don’t have skyrocketing IQ. I am not a bookworm either. I was just doing my best. Being a full scholar, without having to pay my tuition fee, is a great blessing already. I am doing this to make my parents proud of me. They were laid off last January 2009 because of the global economic crisis. Our family had to tighten our budget. Together with my four siblings, you can just imagine how much it takes for my parents to send us all in good schools.
When I was young, they told me how much of a blessing I am to them. In reality, it is I who is blessed with having so wonderful parents, who have given so much and asked for so little. To everyone here, we should never forget the people around us. To my parents, mommy, daddy, again I thank you for everything that you’ve done for me. I also want to thank my Ninang Elvie and Nanay Azon for always being there, supporting me and cheering for me. To my awesome friends, thank you very much. You have been my partners since day one. I am blessed with people who are not only my biggest supporters, but also my very present help in times of need. To some of them here, I share my victory with you.
To my professors, thank you for sharing your knowledge and wisdom with me and to the rest of the students here at MCL. When I was tormented between pursuing ECE or shifting to ChE, you were there to give me advice and help me weigh my options. I would like to give special thanks to Sir Monterey, for showing how much fun Chemistry is, also to Sir Tablante, for letting me have a gauge of what ECE is all about, and to Sir Del Pilar, for letting me into the world of electricity and magnetism for a term. Soon, I realized that the electronic world is not for me. Now, I am a part of the ChE family.
To some people, dreams are what they tell themselves every night to convince them that tomorrow will be better. For me, my dream is an inevitability. With hardwork, perseverance, love, and support from my family, teachers, and friends, and ultimately, guidance from God, I have no doubt that better things are yet to come. If I can do this, you can also do this. For now, we are all holding on to our dreams, but someday, in God’s own time, they will come true. Today, being an engineer is my dream. Someday, this dream will be my reality. Once again, a pleasant afternoon to everyone. Thank you and may God bless us all.
Credits to Meg Anne Santos and Ms. Joahna Eduarte for this wonderful speech.
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