OpinionsReflections from The CharlesFamily, community, service

Family, community, service

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A little over a year ago, on Aug. 11, 2018, I got a message from 2004 Outstanding Sillimanian for International Education Dr. Priscilla Lasmarias-Kelso: “Are you perhaps planning to go home with the family next summer? In this regard, I was thinking of nominating you for the OSA this October so we can be together in Dumaguete by August 2019, God-willing. What do you think?”

What did I think? Like any Sillimanian, I expressed my reservation, requesting first for the best thinking and endorsement of the Silliman Alumni of New England (SANE).

The rest, as you know, is history.

That I stand before you today, it is only because of Silliman and Sillimanians.

Silliman education provided me with a firm foundation to navigate the world in competence, character, and faith; and more importantly, in courage, perseverance, compassion, and a deep commitment to service.

Today, I wish to pay tribute to three of Silliman’s most significant gifts: Family, Community, and Service.

My parents, Camilo and Myrna, met in Silliman in the early 70s. My dad, then a student at the College of Engineering after moving from Culasi in Antique, sustained his education through scholarships, the kindness of relatives especially the late Dr. Eliseo Cadapan, and as a working student at the Silliman library. My mom attended the College of Business Administration as an Accounting major.

In July some 27 years ago, I had my first encounter with Jose Mari Jonathan Antonio, a fellow Student Government representative who was elected the Students’ Union for Reforms party’s standard bearer, and I, as Party chair.

Little did I know that leading his campaign for the SG presidency — in an election that to date, by far, garnered the highest voter turnout in SUSG’s history — would merit a future husband.

Being raised in a Sillimanian home, and being married to another Sillimanian — where the values of integrity, humility, hard work, equity, inclusion, and kindness permeate my every day — significantly gave me the courage to explore and venture outside of my comfort zone.

Jojo’s formidable and abiding support, my parent’s selfless commitment and dedication to the welfare of our family have made our everyday battles with hemophilia a source of strength and inspiration.

While our boys might perhaps not have the chance to graduate from Silliman, we assure you they will be raised in an environment where these principles permeate.

I stand here today as an aggregate of the kindness of others, the mentorship of innumerable giants too many to mention, and the support of communities that only the Silliman spirit can sustain — all equally deserving of this honor and acknowledgement.

My CBA community where I spent two years in the Accountancy program, my History-Political Science community, my College of Law community all provided a venue for learning, relearning, and unlearning, and awakened a deep commitment in social justice and human rights, and in creating a free and equitable world, especially for those who are underserved and under-represented.

I owe to all my professors and mentors, their support staff, and my classmates in Silliman the professional that I am today.

Up until 2014 when my family and I moved to Boston, I spent my professional career working in Silliman through EdLaw, an all-Sillimanian law firm, and then the University’s legal team, the College of Law, and the Salonga Center. The various roles that I was privileged to assume provided an insight into a community of belonging and acceptance, and of professionalism and excellence that is uncommon today.

As soon as we landed in Boston, we were effortlessly embraced by the SANE that significantly made Boston a home away from home, and with whom we share a deep and genuine familial bond that has stood the test of personal and professional challenges.

For as long as I can remember, Silliman always instilled in us the importance of giving back.

My impetus in service came in 1992 when I was introduced to the world of student leadership as a member of the SURE party— an experience that opened my eyes to the power in volunteerism and its ability to drive change through the collective.

It was also in the SUSG that I formed life-long friendships that have stood the test of time, friendships that have become sources of greater service and support, friendships that continue to make me accountable to my life’s mission.

The type of service that Silliman teaches us is genuine and selfless. It does not count the cost, does not differentiate the nature or size of the task, does not seek for acknowledgement or recognition. It is the type of service that just gives and continues to give even if it hurts, that leads and follows. It is the type of service that I have seen in so many Sillimanians I have had the chance to know, to encounter, to talk to, and commune with.

It was not by sheer accident that some 118 years ago, Dr. David Sutherland Hibbard deviated from his normal route and stopped-over in Dumaguete, eventually choosing this to be the location of the Silliman Institute, opening on Aug. 28.

Silliman was meant to be a significant educational institution, a seat not only of knowledge and wisdom, but also of leadership and influence, positioned to drive excellence and change.

As transformative as Silliman education has become for many of us, I wonder how we, as an excellent academic community can use our knowledge, research and intellectual abilities to invent, innovate, and decipher new technologies, frameworks, and systems that can not only better the lives of our fellowmen but also strengthen core values important to manage themselves in this hyper-technological age.

I wonder how we, as a cohesive collective community, can leverage our influence, positions of power and authority, competencies and skills, to drive social change.

I wonder how we, as a concerned compassionate community can extend our resources to create impact in places and spaces which remain challenged- where poverty, injustice, discrimination, corruption, lawlessness abound.

I wonder what we, as a community can do to provide greater access and opportunity so that other young people can have the chance to experience Silliman education.

I am greatly honored to stand alongside these five gentlemen who in various fields of expertise, have dedicated their lives in service of Silliman, some of whom I personally know and look up to, but hope that in the years to come, there will be greater diversity in the awardees.

I feel deeply grateful to the SANE and all who continue to believe in me, inspire me, challenge me, encourage me, and anticipate our hosting of Tipon 2021 with much hope.

I dedicate this award to all of you who, along with many more unsung Sillimanians, work hard every single day across the globe to further Silliman’s mission of Via, Veritas, Vita — for it is because of you that Silliman still stands as a formidable educational institution and force for the greater good today.

Daghan kaayong salamat.

____________________________________

Author’s email: [email protected]

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