Professor Solita “Winnie” Monsod was not my professor in College but I guess this is one of the lectures that all University of the Philippines alumni must hear.
It’s a combination of wisdom and wit, a moving and yet entertaining piece – a powerful combination that made me
- realize how lucky I am,
- ask myself if I was able to repay my debt to the Filipino people for paying for my college and master studies,
- wonder if things would have been different if had heard the mantra she shared in this lecture which was:
I am only one but I am one. I cannot do everything but I can do something.
What I can do, I ought to do and with the grace of God, I will do it.
Here’s a video of Prof. Monsod’s lecture to her class last October 5, 2010.
She’s right in pointing out that a lot of leaders of the Philippines are UP graduates but nothing good is still happening in the country. Was it because the graduates forgot about the UP motto of honor and excellence?
We, as graduates of the state university, owe a lot to the Filipino people and upon hearing this lecture, I am saddened by the fact that in our group alone (a quota degree at that), at least 70% are working abroad.
“Malayong lupain, amin mang marating
Di rin magbabago ang damdamin…..Mabuhay ang pag-asa ng bayan”?
Have we failed our countrymen, batchmates?
For me it doesn’t matter if you are from U.P. or whatever school you came from, what matter for me is the person itself. As long as he posses a “common sense” and knew how to “go back to basic” then we can have a high percentage of achieving our goals.
Remember, nowadays “common sense” is no longer very common, hehehe!:=)
hehehe. it’s becoming a rare commodity already??? hehe.
you should, almost half of my salary is being axed for tax..lol…
ang sakit.. parang feeling ko naman kalsada lang ang nagagamit ko..hahaha…
If I’m her student and I’m on my honeymoon I will put a lot of red curtains on my room so she can’t haunt me from the grave… nyahaha…
but seriously, I think honor and excellence are not enough.. it should have a heart.
i presume that napunta kay hubby lahat ng exemptions sa tax sis? hehe.
lagpas na nga pala ako sa honeymoon stage, her threat won’t work na. LOL!!!
Hahaha.. I think you have plenty of time to pay back, sis. Remember her threat in the video. LOL. Seriously, I love love love her speech on honor and excellence, too.
she’s so witty and intelligent. as to the payback, nyyaahhh wag naman sis. sana humaba pa ang life nya, ung nasa post menopausal period na ako. hahaha!!!
Rome wasn’t built in one day. If only each one of us would instill hope in other and help the country in their our little ways, then our country would have a great chance of surpassing what Japan, Korea etc. had done to move their country forward.
Sad to say, most UP alumni I know have migrated to other countries. Nasaan na ang mga Iskolar ng Bayan?
one’s here emiliana but i’m not working – just enjoying the life of a fulltime wife and mom. i only know a handful of my batch who stayed in the Phils. most are really doing well abroad. all of our laudes are in abroad!!!
Saw this a week ago from Carlo Ople. I was hurt and touched at the same time. And I agree with Feron, the message isn’t just for UP students, except for the giving back part because we (I also studied in UP) are “Iskolar ng Bayan”.
We need more good doctors / surgeons here. It’s sad to hear that most people nowadays would prefer living and working abroad than staying here and helping our country.
I love our country so I’m staying. I only want to travel abroad. Hehehe.
i love our country too sis kaya kang i’m becoming hopeless na. anyway, i’m not here to work naman and i had worked in the government for almost five years prior to finding greener pastures in private companies sa pinas.
hmmm i bet it happened to few countries too and so is my country. 🙂 am not sure but i dnt mind to work abroad just to get experience and back to my country again. 😉
glad to hear that you still want to go back to your country after working abroad Caroline. a few of those i know who went abroad already got married and opted to stay there.
It’s so sad kasi parang ang tingin ng mga tao ngaun sa taga UP puro aktibista, the government support their studies out from people’s taxes then makikita mo sila pa yung nangunguna sa mga rally against the government. Of course they have their own reasons, pero what do the government and the people get from them? Let’s face it, kahit sino pa maging presidente ng Pinas lagi na lng silang me reklamo.
I could give an article long reply on this comment because I used to join rallies too when I was in college. Hehehe. Pero hindi naman lagi-lagi… Just to support those issues that matters. Filipinos are already apathetic and passive, they want results but they refuse to take action. I’m not saying rallies are good and there are instances when I also feel that some (especially those affiliated with the leftist) are overboard but rallies serve as venues to let other people know that there’s an important issue that needs to be addressed.
Ooops…guilty yata ako dyan being away from the country. I’m not working abroad but wife to an OFW and I want to keep the family together, so…. Kung ako lang I would like to stay in the Philippines and hopefully be part of the solution not the problem. Buti na lang I was able to work in UP even for just one year…nabawasan din kahit kaunti utang ko sa Filipino people…sigh.
that’s good chin chin. at least, you had served in UP before following your “heart”. hehehe. regards sis!