“Called to Enliven Faith, To Do Justice and Love Kindness”

My warmest greetings and congratulations to the candidate for Capping and Pinning 2015.

Today, we are drawn together to celebrate a joyous success that our dear nursing students have
accomplished. Today they become part of a larger world, a larger competitive community. The wisdom
you gained, the skills you acquired, and the principles you embodied in your years of continuous
learning have led you to this momentous occasion: Today is the beginning of your greater academic
pursuit and the glimpse to your journey as young professionals.

It was Florence Nightingale who in the past, envisioned nurses as a body of educated women when
women were neither educated nor employed. Today, learning the art and science of nursing transcends
gender, either male or female, anyone can be a good nurse as long as they have the heart to care and
the compassion to serve. A Chinese Proverb says, “ Learning is a treasure that will follow its owner
everywhere.” As your mentors, we nurture the desire and the hope that what we give you will be part of
that treasure wherever you go. Not only that, we also endeavor that this treasure will help you in
acquiring bigger values and treasures in life.

I wish to illustrate to you a story of how the world works and how we can effectively develop a positive
attitude. A man and woman are set to travel towards an unfamiliar place, they took a horse with them.
In the first situation, both man and woman are beside the horse as they travel. As they meet people in
their journey, many would laugh at them because neither of them was riding in the horse and thought it
was crazy of them. The purpose then of the horse in their journey was to carry a passenger. In the
second situation, the man lets the woman ride in the horse. People would say that the man has been
abused because only the comfort of the woman is considered. On the third situation, the man rides the
horse as the woman walks. People would again say that the man has forgotten his manners letting a lady
walk as he is in comfort. On the last situation, to avoid any comments, both man and woman rode the
horse. But to their surprise, people still have something to say, to them, the man and woman are too
cruel to the animal having to carry both of them as passengers. Now, the lesson of these situation is
simply laid that in your journey, take your journey towards finishing your course for example, no matter
what you do people will always have something to say, there will be those who will try to bring you down
or make things

Cherish this accomplishment with the people who have helped you forge this triumph—your family, your
mentors and your peers, and take this opportunity to express your gratitude. Draw inspiration from their
examples, persevere to fulfill your aspirations, and cultivate ideals of peace and service beyond the
boundaries of the academe. And as you expand your environment not just within the portals of your
beloved school, you will be encountering many surprising opportunities for learning, use these
opportunities to enhance aspects of your lives and to renew and strengthen our Faith in Christ.
Remember the classrooms, the hallways, the activities, and the friends you have will contribute to what
you will be as nurses in the future. Remember the values they represent. The compassion, humility and
faithfulness that your education and experience that this school has inculcated to you. Use these values
to make the world a fairer place where love and kindess abounds.

It is my hope that in the future as you go out to the world, you may distinguish yourselves as proud
product of Polytechnic College of Davao del Sur, embody the values and become instruments of justice,
love and kindness. Use your aptitude as tools for the development, and with our principles as the
bedrock of our endeavors, let us effect positive change that will propel our communities and industries
forward.

Congratulations and I wish you success in your pursuits.