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On August 29, 2007, the University of Saint La
Salle, with the entire Lasallian Community, hosted a testimonial dinner to the
medical board passers of Class 2006 USLS College of Medicine at the Sanctuario
de La Salle, in the presence of the entire administration, including Bro. Gus
Boquer, FSC, former University President, and the man behind the College of
Medicine, once a dream, now a reality
I remember how we started as a batch 5 years ago. We were plenty then. We were
more confused as were enthusiastic. Confused in a sense that we have never
perhaps expected the kind of dimension we were entering then, the realm of the
medical field. We were enthusiastic perhaps because we were excited to start
living a dream, for many of us, a childhood dream. We made a choice to study in
a new school, rather than in the old and already proven and tested medical
schools in the country. We made that choice as one would make that blind leap
across the cliffs: with faith. We made that choice because we could not pass on
the honor and opportunity to make history for the province of Negros Occidental.
We made that choice simply because we saw a shining chance, a slim potential, to
be great.
I do not say this with arrogance as many skeptics would find it to be so.
Skeptics say our batch would fail every expectation. Skeptics once declared that
most, if not all, of us would not make it. Skeptics chose to be skeptics. But we
chose to face the challenge. We were the underdogs and we chose not to be
defeated.
It was difficult at first, struggling to face these criticisms and at the same
time working hard for a dream fueled with nothing but a personal passion and a
collective support from families and closest friends. It was never easy. For
when was climbing up a steep hill easy? When was sailing out to sea in search of
an elusive dream easy? Making dreams come true was never a walk in the park. It
had to be difficult. It had to be tough. It was a necessity these obstacles
along the road to our dreams. To reach for the stars, one has to fight against
the earth's gravitational pull. In other words, when necessary, one has to go
against the natural laws of life to fight for one's dream.
Year after year we saw friends who decided to quit or suffered greatly from the
pressures of medical school. Year after year we struggled for every step we had
to make. Year after year we huddled together, through thick and thin, fought as
a legion and never as individual mercenaries. We fought the fight and proven a
few detractors wrong. We rode the winds that would be fatal to some and pushed
against the tides running against our direction. We were wearied down, beaten
down, wounded, scarred, but we never gave up. We thought at times of letting go,
but the moment one would almost fall to the ground, two more would come to the
rescue. It was a team effort. It had to be. For we would never have survived
medical school if we were doing the surviving on our own.
We never yielded. Even to the very end we struggled. We were not certain of
winning at first but the victory was not really important. It did not matter to
us who would finish the race first. What mattered was to finish the race, and if
God willing, to finish the race together. From friend to friend, shoulder to
shoulder, we marched towards the peak of our struggles, where our glimmering
dream of becoming doctors awaited us. Those who were strong pulled up those who
were weak. It was always a team effort. It has always been from the very
beginning.
Finally, after 5 years of labor and prayer, we have reached our dreams. We have
become doctors. Perhaps we have lessened the skepticism a bit, although I feel
skeptics will always be around. But they have to be present. It is a necessity.
Their skepticism drive us to excel. Their criticisms push us not to fail. Thank
God for skeptics. Our success is sweeter simply because our chance of failing
was bigger than expected. We were always told that we might fail, but instead of
subscribing to this idea, we took a chance. We continued onwards. We fought it
out. And we succeeded. "Life is to be lived, not controlled, and humanity is won
by continuing to play in face of certain defeat," Ralph Ellison once said. We
played the game in the face of certain defeat, and we were rewarded with
victory.
Remember, Class 2006, that this reward of triumph comes with a big
responsibility. The game is not over for us. It has just begun. Remember our
pledge to serve. Remember our promise to stay true to our principles. "Success
is more permanent when you achieve it without destroying your principles,"
according to Walter Cronkite. Let us never trade our success for our individual
principles. If we lose our values, our ideals, for the things that we have
fought for, then we are not deserving our success.
Let us venture out into the world with our fire of idealism still burning. Let
that flame be perpetually burning in our hearts. And with this flame brought
about by hard work and Divine Grace, let us inflame the world out of its
lukewarmness. In our search for other dreams in life, let us not lose ourselves.
Congratulations, Class 2006.
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