Graduation Speech of Jessrelle O. Capinig
Gratitude paints little smiley faces on everything it touches. If you’re wondering how a smile is created, let me tell you a bit of a secret. This is a recipe my mom taught me. To create a delicious, warm smile, one must have 10 cups of love. In everything that we do, love should be the main ingredient. Helping a friend, hugging your dad, telling your older brother he’s handsome or appreciating your teacher’s hard work … These simple acts are all acts of love. Next is to add 1 liter of kindness. Pouring kindness is like giving liquid gold to everyone. It’s invaluable, and it will most certainly give sparkle to all that it reaches. Another thing is to mix 5 tablespoons of hope. Especially now that we’re in a pandemic. Day by day, we are uncertain of what tomorrow might bring. But hope is the fuel that gives us strength to push through and embrace life. With all of these ingredients, a smile is baked—a smile for the teachers who have helped us grow into the amazing humans that we are, for their dedication and passion to teach and nurture. A smile for GBBC for committing to provide an excellent education for us, thank you for being the stepping stone in fulfilling a child’s greatness. A smile to the friends we have made along the way. Kindred souls who radiate kindness and joy. A smile for our parents and guardians. The pillars of strength that have allowed us to reach our dreams. Giving us love so great and incomparable. A smile to God, our Heavenly Father who watches over us and protects us with His mercy. Lastly, sprinkle life with gratitude. The world will become brighter and more beautiful with gratitude in our hearts.
Graduation Speech of Sheila Mae A. Deleña
To our honorable school President Dr. Joyce Porcadilla-Rubia, our Principal, Mrs. Evelin G. Reforma, our Assistant Principal, Mr. Manuelito Abogadie, the faculty and staff, parents and guardians, and to my fellow graduates, a pleasant day to everyone!
Graduation is a time to remember and a time to dream. It is a time to bid our goodbyes to yesterday and a time to greet tomorrow. A time to rejoice for all that we are and for all that we may become. Six years have passed since we began to tread the world where all our ignorance has been replaced by wisdom. It was six years ago when some of us were just afraid and crying because we didn’t want our mamas to leave us and be out of our sight. It was at this stage when we were just expressing our young self, not caring how much we got ourselves dirty and tired of playing around. At this stage, we started dreaming, building friendships, and even facing trials and uncertainties. But, finally, after 6 long years we have come to an end of our grade school journey, and we are now about to take another step of our education as we mark in our histories, the commencement of not just our hard work but also of our parents and teachers. On behalf of every graduate, I am sending my sincerest gratitude to all the people who shaped the person that we are today and who dedicatedly helped to work our way up.
To the teachers and mentors we’ve had on this journey, this school year has been a bumpy ride for everyone, but with you being patient, diligent, and dedicated, we have reached the end smoothly with instilled learning in our minds and values in our hearts. Thank you for giving us opportunities to awaken our sleeping skills and abilities. You taught us to look and achieve excellence in everything we do. You guided us on our way to success and molded us to be the person that God wants us to be.
To our Alma Mater, the General Baptist Bible College, thank you for being an integral part of our learning. We are so grateful that you embedded learnings and values in our minds and hearts that we can use as armors as we fight to reach our dreams.
To all the parents and guardians, we deeply appreciate the efforts, love, support, time, and patience that you have extended to us. To my family, especially to my Mama and Papa, thank you for staying by my side in good times and in bad times, for all the sacrifices that you’ve made for us, and for correcting me when I am wrong. I hope you know that this victory is not just for myself, but for you and our family. My words cannot express how happy and grateful I am that I’m yours, I love you forever.
Beyond everyone, I give all the thanksgiving, glory, and honor to our Almighty Father who loves me unconditionally, who listens to my prayers, who has become my rest in times of stress, and who never fails to bless and guide me in my journey towards this achievement. I know all of these things would have been impossible without You. The pandemic caused by Covid-19 led us to a battle with a series of challenges and changes. However, it also brought new experiences to us, students, by having new learning modalities and a setting where we have acquired our education. Covid-19 really changed the course of our school year but by the grace of our Father, you and I have come to this point. This crisis made me taste hardships, doubt, and hopelessness, but somehow it taught me the importance of contentment with what God has blessed me with. I now fully understand the value of being disciplined especially when nobody is watching and telling you what to do, and it made me realize that the only thing that we can do in this time of uncertainty is to trust the Lord, for with Him and through Him we can find peace, comfort, hope and assurance that these trials that we are experiencing will also come to an end.
Last but not the least, to my fellow graduates, we may not be able to walk on the stage to receive our recognitions, diplomas, and medals, still let happiness fill our hearts for we are one step closer to our dreams. May we not stop learning and look forward to improving ourselves. Let us continue to be God’s instrument. Best wishes to you in all of your future endeavors! THANK YOU AND CONGRATULATIONS BATCH 2020-2021! To God be all the glory.
Graduation Speech of Jerene V. Quipao
Before I begin, I just want to affirm every student who graduated this year. We made it. To our school administrators, faculty and staff, parents, guardians, friends, my fellow graduates, ladies and gentlemen a blessed day.
They say high school life is one of the most exciting and happiest moments of a student. That’s where you get to fully experience your teenage years. I remember entering my first ever classroom, afraid of not knowing anyone. I was only relieved when I saw my classmate from Grade 6. In those 3 years, I thought that everything would sail smoothly. We enjoyed our time inside the campus, eating lunch with our friends, talking about nonsense things, and laughing about everything. We shared the same pressure and stress when a big performance task was coming or when we were about to compete with other grade levels during school activities. We also celebrated victories together. During those days we formed a bond that resulted in friendships and relationships. It taught us about love, friendship, happiness, commitment, excellence, leadership, pain, and even heartbreaks. We grew-up and matured not only as a class but as an individual. Who would have thought that those were the last days we would be able to experience those memories? Who knew that a pandemic will happen in the 21st century and control the world?
This year is different from what we are all used to. We all had violent reactions when the DepEd announced that we will have distance learning modalities this school year. We started our Grade 10 year facing our laptops, cellphones, computers, and modules. We all felt mixed emotions and we were uncertain if we would be able to finish this year. Many blamed everything on the government. Some even demanded an academic freeze due to our situation and we felt that this setting was unfair for other students. We felt that this new method of learning took our freedom and we felt suffocated. We spent all night answering our activities, asking for help from our teachers and other classmates if they could spare us time to teach us this subject. Everyone was adjusting, not just us students but also our teachers and parents. We are all victims of this pandemic and my heart goes for those people who continue to strive hard to achieve their goals.
I thank all of the faculty and staff most especially our teachers who are constantly giving their full service to every student. You proved that you can still be our second parents even when we are not at school. You are not only teaching us about anything related to your subject but also inspiring us to be better versions of ourselves and reminding us that attitude stands out the most. And if patience and understanding could be a person, I say that you are a perfect illustration of it. I also want to extend my gratitude to our school president Ma’am Joyce Porcadilla-Rubia and our school principal and assistant principal Ma’am Evelin Reforma and Sir Manuel Abogadie, respectively, for providing us with the best education despite the pandemic that we are facing. I didn’t know how you did all of these but I’m certain that even before this situation happened, you are all great leaders and we can see the dedication you have in improving our school all the more. To our GBBC family, including our canteen personnel, Guard Jessie, and to everyone who is part of this institution, my warmest appreciation to all of you. You’ve been part of our lives and your efforts will never be in vain.
To my schoolmates, care group members, Team Dolphin or should I say Dolphin-phindol, and to my classmates from Grade 7 to Grade 10, thank you for allowing me to be part of your lives. You only didn’t bring me joy in my high school journey but you also helped me grow and develop as a person. I know you had expectations of me and maybe I didn’t fulfill some of them but thank you for being my shoulder to cry and rant on. Special thanks to all of my “barkadas” each school year. Our friendship was unexpected but it was the best-unexpected relationship that I had. I will forever miss our “chikas” every day and the support you all showed to me. And also to every group inside and outside class that I had handled, thank you for allowing me to scold you during practices and for accepting me as your leader. Even if we haven’t talked for a while now ever since the lockdown happened, you always have special places in my heart. The celebrations that we shared, the team works that we had, and all the fun memories and even the sad ones that we collected will always be cherished. I love you all! Of course, I don’t want to fill this speech with just appreciation for you guys because I still have a lot of people to be thankful for.
To the people behind my success, my ever-loving parents, thank you for always being by my side at all times. The support you have for me is indescribable. Thank you for providing all my needs and for understanding me in every way possible. Thank you for all the corrections and for being patient with me. I know at some point, I still made you proud and I will always make you proud. I’m thankful that you never pressured me though sometimes I feel like it, at the end of the day, it was just a reminder for me to do my best in all aspects because you don’t want me to regret everything after. I will also never forget to thank those who contributed to this success with their prayers. I believe that it is not my skill, nor my talents, nor the confidence that I have for myself, the reason why I survived this school year, but it was because of your prayers that served as a pillar that helped me to move forward and still be on my feet.
Above all, I offer everything to God. He alone deserves all praise, glory, and recognition. I wouldn’t be where I am today without you, Lord. I will forever be thankful for your faithfulness and goodness in my life. There are times where my faith is tested but your love and compassion for me are beyond my imagination. Thank you for always reminding me with your Word that I am always loved and valued, not just me but all of us.
We may never have a chance to finish our Grade 10 walking towards the stage receiving our awards and certificate of completion, wearing our togas, bidding goodbyes to our friends and teachers, and even taking pictures while we capture the last moment of our Junior High School life but what matters most is that we were able to survive this school year, strongly.
As I end this chapter of my life, I just want to share the lesson I’ve learned during these years. And that is to always grab the opportunity when it is right in front of you and never be afraid of failures. I know that every speaker from around the world already said these words but for me, this is my living testimony and I will always remember the time when I first had that opportunity. I always have a fear of the crowd and to perform in front of them always scares me. In my years at GBBC, I can say that it was the place for me to gain confidence. I participated in a competition when I was in Grade 7 and I never thought that I would be able to fight that fear. Things weren’t smooth and it was a bumpy ride for me. I remember not being able to finish delivering my piece because of the overwhelming feeling I felt and mainly because of nervousness. I felt completely embarrassed but what I didn’t realize is that it was time for me to step out of my comfort zone. That journey continued and I can say that it was a victory for me. Sometimes I participate in extra-curricular activities just for grades. But as time went by, those decisions were more than just a grade. I want to let this opportunity inspire my fellow students. I don’t care what grade you are in. Remember that your teachers appointed you for that task to help you grow and not to embarrass you. When you see someone slowly getting out of their shell, never be a reason for them to be discouraged. There are many doors of opportunities waiting for us and never take that for granted. At the end of your destination, you will be amazed how far you’ve become and you will always be thankful for that one step you took and for the people who supported you.
We live in a world full of uncertainties. Therefore, we must do everything we can so that we won’t regret it later. I don’t know when you are going to fully understand this message but my prayer is that someday, you will realize that there is more to life than what you can imagine. Yeah, I did sound a little bit oldie right there but that’s the truth. To my fellow graduates, I declare success and victory in every path you choose to take and I hope to see you at the end. As I end my speech, I declare upon everyone good health and an abundance of blessings. Thank you and God bless us all.
Graduation Speech of Claire Joseph B. Bugoy
To our school President Dr. Joyce Porcadilla-Rubia; our Principal, Mrs. Evelin G. Reforma; our Assistant Principal, Mr. Manuelito Abogadie; the faculty and staff, parents and guardians, schoolmates, and to my fellow graduates, a blessed day!
Perhaps like any other school here in the Philippines, we are not having a face-to-face graduation ceremony. Across the world, this pandemic has affected many students but we all know that this is just temporary. Despite this current situation, we will continue our education and pursue our ambitions in life.
Well, we did it! We all accomplished one of the major early milestones in our lives: high school graduation. This is something that should be recognized for its boundless significance. This is an act not only of personal commitment but also of one’s pride. We all performed well and worked hard to get to this moment. This day, all our hard work paid off but this is not the end, this is just a part of a larger quest in our lives.
As we continue to grow, we have experienced difficulties in life that have made us stronger even life continues to give us reasons to surrender. There are times that we feel like we cannot possibly go on; there will be times that we think that we are alone, but here we are. Our commitment led us here today, in this great accomplishment. This graduation has already shown us how capable we all are of accomplishing our goals when we are fully committed to them. All of the accomplishments we have achieved during our high school should be taken as a starting point for further achievements. Let us be committed in all we do, for this journey is a lifelong commitment and worth every sacrifice.
We’ve made it this far. Nothing worthwhile is easy, and that includes making the most out of our futures. But that doesn’t mean we give up on ourselves. We will keep pushing because we know we can achieve our dreams as long as we are committed. We may feel down, we may feel that we want to give up, but let us just think of this personal accomplishment. We have achieved this! Anything is possible if we truly put our mind to it. Let us be committed, for commitment is the foundation of our success in the future.
Before I end this, let us thank God for this achievement, without Him, this is not possible. Let us thank every person who helped us achieve this milestone. Let us thank our parents who unconditionally supported us in the midst of our situation today. Our parents are our first teachers who taught us and cared for us and helped us become who we are now. Let us give them our unending appreciation and love and continue to make them proud. Let us also thank our teachers who helped us to strive harder to accomplish our goals. They taught us lessons with excellence. They are the ones who honed our skills and talents. They helped us to become great leaders. They helped us to become a better version of ourselves, and encouraged us along the way. Let us also thank this institution, the General Baptist Bible
College, which provided a safe place for us to learn and exercise our skills. And lastly, let us thank our classmates and friends who understood our hardships, who encouraged us, and had fun with us. Let’s thank everyone who helped and guided us to accomplish this great achievement.
From this day forward, let us make every decision with our best interests in mind. Let us believe in ourselves to reach our goals and fulfill our dreams. Let us be the best that we can be so that we may fill our lives and the lives of those closest to us with happiness and with pride. Never forget that without commitment, nothing will happen. We’ve already taken the first step by making it to this ceremony today. Now, it’s time to take the next steps of our journey and begin to build our future with and by the grace of God.
Congratulations, Class of 2021!