GRADUATING from high school is just the beginning of a more challenging adult life and students must be prepared for it to reach their destinations, according to the vicar general of the Archdiocese of Chalan Kanoa.
Fr. Joseph Billotti told the 46 graduating students of Mount Carmel High School on Saturday that there will be times when they will fall, but just like other brave souls, they must stand up again.
“This is your world now. I wish you the best (and) my prayers go to you,” Billotti said.
He recalled that he graduated from high school in 1950. At the time, there were 93 of them who got their secondary education diplomas.
Two years ago, Billotti said they had a grand reunion and more than 60 of them showed up. But the priest said it was as if “we’ve just met.” More than 20 of them had already died.
Billotti said education is the only thing that cannot be stolen from a person. The difference lies on how a person uses it to influence the world he lives in, he said.
“The gift of education will always be with you. No one can take it away. No one can force you to use your gift or not use it,” he said.
Keko Ezekiel Castro Cabrera, the valedictorian of MCS Class of 2002, told his fellow graduates not to be easily intimidated by challenges, which they should instead face head on with pride and confidence.
“Stand for who you are. You might not be easily accepted but that’s life. Continue to dream, to explore and wonder,” Cabrera said.
