A Message to the Alumni

Message delivered by Prof. Rosalie B. Faderon on 23 April 2005.

Dean Ma. Divina Pascua-Cruz, former Deans Ursula G. Picache and Rosa M. Vallejo, colleagues in the Institute of Library and Information Science, Mrs. Ma. Cristina Samson and other officers of the UPLSAA, fellow alumni, ladies and gentlemen:

Good Afternoon! Since you invited me as your speaker today and I accepted it, let me tell you that I accepted the concomitant privilege of requesting a favor from you. Would you please greet your seatmates on your right, on your left, in front of you and at your back? From here, I can see you greeting each other but I don’t hear the words you say. For those whose responses you did not hear, what do you think did they say? Let me guess what most of you said: “Fine,” “Okay,” “Mabuti,” “Beauty pa rin.” Is my guess correct? How nice of you to be so participative and cooperative! I am psyching up myself to make my task of delivering an inspirational message easy.

Invariably, you and I, or man, in general, have experienced goodness in our lives. Remember how excited you were when you passed the UPCAT or when you were admitted to the BLIS/MLIS program? Remember how grateful you were when you finished your thesis? How you felt when you were informed that you were graduating with honors? Remember how excited you were at your first job? What boundless joy your parents or you experienced upon seeing and having a newborn child! If you are married, call to heart how you felt during your wedding day. If you are in a relationship, remember how he proposed love to you and how you accepted him. Wow! Would you have wished for eternity! Remember the perfect and complete happiness in the Garden of Eden before the fall of Adam and Eve?

Indeed, when goodness is in you or around you, you experience harmony, peace and joy. You feel strong! You like to share it with someone. Oh, how nice it is to multiply goodness to mitigate the problems of the world!

I urge you, therefore, to be good always. If you don’t believe you are, just do it. Take inspiration from the good thief on Good Friday. Do you remember what he said? On the cross, he said, “Remember me, Lord, when You are in Paradise.” And Jesus replied, “This day, you will be with me in paradise.” Someone said he stole heaven but the truth is, Jesus gladly gave it to him.

In this world of ours, we often are attracted to do the less good. It is not easy to choose from the colors of the rainbow; much less, from the options of black and white. Do you remember how it was like to decide to study at UP? Or how it was to make up your mind to take up library and information science? While studying at UP, did you ever think of quitting? Did you entertain the thought of transferring to another school? Put it in another way, we are saying that life is a struggle. It would be the same as you enter the world of work, the area of graduate studies or the realm of building your own family. I am confident that your education in UP has equipped you with the basic knowledge, skills and tools to come out as victors in the struggles yet to come.

Let me invite you though to consider seriously what St. Paul wrote to the Romans, and I paraphrase him:

For I do not do what I want, but I do what I hate. If what I hate is good, and I do not do it, but instead do unwillingly what is bad, then I am not in control of myself.

It sounds like there is an identity crisis. More than that, there is a struggle and someone loses. If this happens to you, take heed of Pope John Paul II’s exhortation, “Be not afraid.” Rejoice, for there is immeasurable goodness in our society and culture. You realize how much connected you are to your friends. You belong to a family; you belong to a church! You are part of the Filipino culture of mutuality of love and care! There are immutable, as well as adaptive/changing principles, that govern membership in these groups. Discover them and live them out!

To be good is exacting, demanding of sacrifice, patience, perseverance, faith, hope and charity. But you have to reason, believe and trust in goodness. Remember some of our beloved personalities: Mother Teresa who is known for her sacrifice, love and charity; Pope John Paul II, for his sacrifice, faith, and love; Ninoy Aquino, for his faith and love for the Filipinos; St. Monica, the mother of St. Augustine, for her patience, faith and love; and one of our heroes, Jose Rizal, for his love of country. These are some of the men and women who knew their purpose in life. Therefore, search for and live out your identity!

Finally, always and never stop to ask who you are in the profession. There is a place for improvement at any time. Live out who you are! There’s a voice within you; listen to it. Listen also to the message around you. Let me ask you: what does a job vacancy in the UP Library, in ADB Library, or in a municipal library tell you? What can you contribute to uplift our condition in the country, particularly the incidence of poverty and unemployment? Indeed, you have to listen to the message about creation, about life—from what you see: the sky, the moon and the stars, the flora and the fauna; from what you feel and smell: the soothing breeze, the fragrant smell of flowers; and the music sung by the birds. These are wonderful gifts of love!

Thank you. Have a nice day!