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ASHRAF RIOS KHATER
Editor-in-Chief,
Tolentine Star
Magna
Cum Laude, BS Chemical Engineering
Campus
Journalism Awardee
CEAS
– WV Excellence Awardee
Leadership
Awardee
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A
MESSAGE FROM THE GRADUATES
A pleasant morning to
Rev. Fr. Emeterio Buñao, OAR, the religious and lay administrators, fellow
graduates, faculty members and staff, guests, and loved ones.
Our
years in this University have been filled with a lot of joys, sadness, burdens,
fun moments, and everything in between, that we can only remark on the beauty
of these memories that are now etched within our hearts.
Our
stay in the University has transformed us into the individuals you see around
you, changed men and women with the strong principle of discipline and
dedication. We are a batch of paradoxes, because, no matter what happens, we
make things work. For instance, many people have labeled engineers to be
masters of math and mishaps of English, but I beg to differ. I stand here
before you as a testament that we should not dwell on stereotypes but explore
the diverse facets of our lives.
We
are all unique in our own way because we have within us this dream, this desire
to instill change in our lives, the lives around us, and the world that we live
in. Our journey in the four corners of the University has taught us that
survival is necessary even as the burdens begin to pile up and the amount of
expectations exponentially increases. We have overcome these burdens and now we
are on our way to making our own tomorrows todays.
We
are a batch that is resilient. In chemistry, we have what is known as Le
Chatelier’s Principle. It states that if a system undergoes a certain level of
stress, it does something to bounce back and attain a new level of equilibrium.
We are just like that. No matter how heavy our burdens may be, we always find a
way to relieve such tension by being the best we could, and the best we should.
The
realizations that exist in today’s momentous event would not be if it weren’t
for the countless souls who have helped us along the way. I would not be here
had it not been for the support, love, and guidance that each person has
trusted upon me; neither would any of us, actually. No matter how short thank
yous may be, their impacts transcend the very fabric of time—even disrupting
all sense of error and misjudgment, because one thank you means a lot to any
person.
As
we integrate into society, we should hold true to ourselves the values that the
University has embedded within us. We should maintain our strong faith because
it is our faith that keeps us alive despite the terrors of the forlorn. It is
our faith that keeps us anchored into reality. And, it is our faith that keeps
us one with God.
Remember,
everyone has his story to tell. Each smiling face, each drop of tear, and each
moment that we spend in our final farewell to the University, we carry with us
the will of the future and the hope of tomorrow. Let us be the atoms of change,
ever excited by each challenge, no matter how daunting. After all, graduation
is only the beginning of another chapter in the book that we call our lives.
Ashraf
shares about being a THOS Awardee here…
Ashraf, thank you so much for sharing this
inspiring speech. God bless you in your life’s journey! —Tolentine Herald
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