It is a distinct honour and privilege for me to receive this award on behalf of my sister, Lilybeth, and to read out to you her message, and I quote:

The Honourable Chair of the Alumni Board,
The Honourable Principal
Friends
Ladies and Gentlemen
Good evening!

When I heard that the Selection Board favourably considered my nomination, I immediately sat down to draft my acceptance speech and sent it over to my sister. After two hours, twenty-three minutes and forty seconds my sister came back to me and said, Ate, this speech is too long. I cannot possibly read it to them. So, I went back and shortened it. I was too happy I was able to shave off three minutes and twenty seconds. Alas, I received a text message later saying that the speech should be between two to three minutes only. Imagine my disappointment.

Seriously speaking, I would like to share with you tonight three main thoughts I learned these past years: One, there are fairy godmothers after all; two, events, situations and people are neutral; and three, the power of the mind is stupendous.

Why do I say that there are fairy godmothers after all? I am where I am today and I am getting this recognition because of the numerous individuals who have touched me. I will not be able to name all of them one by one but the challenges that each provided me, taught me a lot. One math teacher had us competing for scores by solving algebraic equations within the shortest possible time. I must tell you that I suffered from stress in first year high school that people who know me now think that I am cool under pressure. One teacher encouraged us to write in our homeroom notebook our thoughts and ideas. Today, I have fooled a lot of people and continue to fool others in thinking that I can write. One teacher believed that I was good in biology, which led me to believe that I can be good in anything if I set my mind to it. One teacher challenged us to present history in creative ways and forms that today I would to think that when I am presented with a problem, I am able to divide it into parts that make it easier to solve. Trying to better my time in dismantling the garand taught me the beauty of competing with myself. There are also parents of former classmates, friends and families who taught me lessons in their own way. I also have to admit that studying in Quezon City Science High School taught me the value of self-reliance.

Lesson number two: Events, situations and people are neutral. I learned through the many challenges that I have encountered that I can either be depressed and be immobilized into inaction and think that fate is being unfair or I can face the situation in a positive way. Sometimes, it is not easy not to react to a particular person whose vibes run counter to mine or who has been evil, but I found that I lose more energy by being angry when I could be best make use of my time doing some other more worthwhile activities.

Lesson number three: The power of the mind is stupendous. Aside from these fairy godmothers and the realization that I can chose to react to situations, events and people in a positive way, I learned that if I think that I will make a success of something, I really am able to make a success of something. Conversely, if I think that I will fail, I inevitably fail. Of course, you still have to exert effort but sometimes in a difficult situation, I tell myself I will be able to get out of this. And indubitably my mind becomes clearer and I am able to identify the steps I need to take.

I am sure that the individuals who comprised the Organizing Committee, despite the limited resources of time and money, ha d nothing but success in mind. And they did it, did they not?

I would like to thank you all for this recognition and to reiterate that this is ours. Thank you for being in my life. Let me also extend my appreciation to you for giving me this opportunity to share my thoughts tonight. To the future recipients of the Batch '77 awards, let our modest contribution inspire you to greater heights.

Again, we can positive affect people around us, react to challenges positively and acknowledge the power of our minds.

Good evening.