To our commencement speaker, distinguished guests of honor, school administrators, our dear principal and assistant principal, program heads, highly competent teachers, proud and ever supportive parents and guardians, my fellow candidates, ladies, and gentlemen, a pleasant afternoon and welcome to the 2019 STI Senior High School Commencement Exercises!
Honored [pause]. That’s how I feel as I stand here and make an affirmation of a promise just fulfilled. Promise? Yes, you heard it right, a promise. I believe that all of us once had a promise, well may that be in great silence and intimacy or maybe shared and uttered, on the very first day we set foot on this campus – a promise that we would make all academic efforts, do our best, make our family proud, and soon graduate.
Today, April 26, 2019 marks the finishing date, the deadline, of the fulfillment of such a promise, and yes, we are but a few more moments to claiming the sweetest fruits of all our academic endeavors. Wow, we just made it guys!
Soon we receive our diplomas, we may be overwhelmed by a mix of emotions, and our hands may turn cold and trembling, but let us always keep our hearts and lips open for the overflowing appreciation and gratitude to all who have supported and helped us all throughout our academic journey. Yes, we cannot make it without those who have made us realize our real purpose in life.
To our highly competent teachers, ‘thank you’ may not be enough for molding us to become better individuals, for assisting us through the enhancement of our skills, for encouraging us to keep going, and for keeping our confidence high enough, especially during tough times. Your expertise, experiences, and patience really mean a lot to all of us. It may not be enough, but we still want to say, thank you.
To our proud and loving family, our parents and guardians, our dearest mama, papa, daddy, mommy, ma, pa, nanay, tatay, ina, ama, and also tito, tita, lolo, and lola, we thank you for being the first persons to believe in us. Thank you for your continuous love, support, hard work, and sacrifices to provide us with what we need and with the best education. Without you, we are surely not here today. We may not be your most expressive nor affectionate daughters and sons, but I assure you that we love you and we are always thankful for everything.
Above all, our thanks to the Lord God Almighty who always guides us and gives us strength and wisdom. Lord, we offer all our achievements.