ALUMNI
Alumni President’s Speech
Hon. Danilo L. Baccay, President
St. Paul University Philippines Alumni Association (SPUPAA)
SPUP ALUMNI HOMECOMING 2010
Mother Madeleine Hall, St. Paul University Philippines
January 23, 2010
A very significant event brought us together today, which is the holding of the SPUP annual alumni homecoming. It is an event that most, if not all of us, look forward to with pleasurable anticipation. It has become a tradition because every year, for the past one hundred years, we have consistently observed it as one big “Paulinian Family.”
Tradition, I say, because it plays a very important role in our lives. It connects the present to the past. It makes our relationship, the bond of friendship, the values and ideals that our beloved alma mater has imbibed in us, stronger and more stable.
For all of us alumni of SPUP, this is a time to be together again with our former classmates and friends and to recall the fond memories of our youth.
Our alma mater has gone a long way. From its humble beginnings more than a century ago, no one would really believe how it has grown in terms of population, the number of courses it is now offering and the quality of graduates it has produced.
Moreover, it is unthinkable to believe how it has metamorphosed into one of the most respectable Catholic educational institutions in the country.
From a simple sectarian school more than a hundred years ago, it is now an icon of educational excellence in our country.
These, my friends, are the fruits of the continuous labor of the administration and staff of SPUP, whose minds are focused on giving relevant education to their students and guided by the principles of Paulinian education.
Today, we are gathered once more for our annual alumni homecoming. Today, we get to meet new members. Today, we get updated about our former classmates and friends. And today, we will also be inspired by the achievements of our fellow alumni.
But perhaps, more important than the enjoyment and excitement of being together again is the reaffirmation of the friendship, the relationship and the deep bonding that differentiates all of us – alumni of SPUP – from the others.
But, most important is to renew our commitment to be of service to our fellowmen the Paulinian way.
Our role as a true Paulinian does not stop in our graduation. We have to make true our commitment and, in our own little way, make a difference in the lives of our fellowmen, especially the less fortunate or underprivileged members of our community.
This is what was taught to us before and this is what we pledged to do.
May I now ask you to relax and enjoy this modest program that we have prepared for you, a program which in time will become part of this beautiful tradition.
On these notes, I bid you all a warm welcome to our annual alumni homecoming.
Closing Remarks - Alumni Homecoming