Former Finance Secretary Gary B. Teves spoke to some 300 graduating students from three local colleges–Metro Dumaguete College, Science & Technology Institute, and the Asian College of Science & Technology in a string of commencement exercises he attended last week.
Sixty MDC graduates–including 12 who finished Computer Education and 24 in Computer Hardware Servicing–marched in Bethel Guest House last March 29 and heard Teves’ speech on the theme “Shifting the locus of knowledge from the classroom to the commercial and industrial worlds.”
“It is an apt reminder of the role you will partake in the community now that you have earned a degree. The time of formal training and skills equipping has reached its culmination. It is now the time for you to share the knowledge that you have acquired from your school to the communities and work places in which you will soon operate,” said Teves, noting that the knowledge which graduates have been equipped with gives them the capability to affect their surroundings positively.
Meanwhile, at STI-Dumaguete’s graduation exercises on March 30 in the same venue, the former finance chief delivered a speech on the theme “Go make a difference: see, advocate, act” and encouraged the 95 graduates–composed of 55 degree holders in Information Technology, 21 in Hospitality and Restaurant Management, and 19 in Computer and Electronics Technology–to strive to create a positive impact on society.
“Making a difference begins with a decision. It starts when you decide to commit yourselves to becoming relevant to the community. But first, you must seek to understand an issue, find a cause that moves you, then become its advocate. More importantly, put your ideals into action,” Teves said.
He shared a personal advocacy–responsible taxpaying–and encouraged the graduates, the country’s newest taxpayers, to diligently pay their taxes as law-abiding Filipinos. “Taxes should not be seen as a burden but rather, as an opportunity to contribute to nation building,” he said.
During ACSAT’s commencement exercises on April 1 at the Negros Oriental Convention Center, Teves spoke about the theme “Rethinking our role, developing leaders in IT and management.” “As ACSAT graduates, you are in the position to help the province of Negros Oriental and the Philippines to overcome the formidable challenges ahead. This age is particularly marked by rapid technological breakthroughs, and you of the Internet-savvy generation are in the best position to ride through the waves of the digital world,” Teves told ACSAT’s 159 graduates, including 20 in Information Technology, 18 in Computer Engineering, and 19 in Electronics Technology. (PR)
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