Five Valedictorians

7/29/2019 Five Valedictorians

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/five-valedictorians 1/5

Five Valedictorians

Today, my youngest sister will graduate as valedictorian of her high

school class. As she delivers her valedictory address on the podium, my

engineer father and my homemaker mother will be listening from

dedicated seats in the front row. Dapper in his polo and regal in her

blouse handpicked just for the occasion, they will share the spotlight as

my sister accepts her gold medal.

My parents are used to the attention. After all, I achieved the same

recognition in 2001, as did my sister in 2002, my other sister in 2005,and my brother last year. My parents could not be any more proud as

they march with their fifth consecutive valedictorian (and 5 th UPCAT

passer, too). It is a feat never before accomplished in our school, and I

daresay never to be replicated, considering that 300 to 400 high school

students graduate each year.



Baticulon Family

Teachers, parents, and students have labeled us a family of geniuses.

Acquaintances often ask, ―Kanino ba nagmana ng talino ang mga anak

niyo?‖(From whom did they inherit their intelligence?) or ―Paano ba

magpalaki ng mga matatalinong anak?‖ (How do you raise such smart

children?) to which my mother or father would reply in polite jest,

―Hindi ko alam. Pinipigilan ko na nga mag-aral ang mga iyan sa bahay!‖

(I don’t know. I even try to stop them from studying at home!)

Truth is, I prefer that we be known as a family of hard work anddetermination.

Back when I was in high school, my father earned between 12 to 15

thousand pesos a month working in the construction site. Even with

http://ronibats.ph/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Family.jpg



overtime pay and occasional bonuses, the amount was barely enough for

a family of seven, all five kids studying. On my mother rested the burden

of having to budget my father’s salary. On weekends, she sold pancit and

other food items in the village wet market to augment our family income.

We lived with my paternal grandparents because we never had enough

money to rent or buy a house to call our own.

Often, my father had to ask for bale from his bosses and my mother had

to approach relatives and friends, to borrow money for tuition,dormitory fees, or allowance. June (enrollment) and March (graduation)

were perennially difficult times. They bowed their heads, begged for

consideration, swallowed their pride, and bore every harsh word; what’s

important was that every quarter our respective class advisers would

allow us to take our periodic exams.

My parents would then say to us, ―Kaya mag-aaral kayong mabuti, kasi

kayo lang ang pag-asa namin.‖ (Study well, because you are our only

hope.)

We children never asked for new books or uniforms – these things we

obtained second-hand from generous friends we met by becoming active

in the student council and other student organizations. We saved part of

our allowance if we needed supplies for a school project. Every book,intramurals jersey, field trip, or JS Prom had to be justified. But these

―shortcomings‖ (if one would even dare to label them as such), never left

any of us wanting.



Despite being obviously tired from work and having to commute to and

from his project site, my father would help us with our math and science

assignments. His skills always came in handy for school projects that

involved woodwork and electricity. And if we wanted to attend an

extracurricular activity that had a registration fee, he always fulfilled his

promise to find the means to pay for it.

Every morning my mother would wake up to prepare our baon (cheaper

than having to buy lunch from the canteen every day), and every night

before she slept, she made sure that we had clean and pressed uniformsto be worn the next day (because we only had two sets each). When we

needed formal clothes for school programs, she would ask among her

friends till she found two or three we could choose from. She scoured

bookstores for urgently needed project materials and processed our

college application forms.

My father and my mother have never missed a graduation or recognition

ceremony.

The key to raising five valedictorians is that our parents never forced us

to study. We studied hard and we studied well because seeing our

parents’ sheer dedication, each of us wanted a better life for the entire

family. There was no need to dictate which path to take. We pursued

excellence, because at the end of each school year, every medal, plaque,and trophy was a token of gratitude to them.

Having just celebrated 30 years of marriage last December, my parents

stand proud with one UP doctor and two UP engineers, all cum laudes,



with two more engineers on the way. While debts remain to be paid, life

is beginning to change for our family. We have been able to acquire our

first car. My youngest brother and sister can go through college without

the anxiety of lacking money to pay tuition. My father can now buy his

polo and my mother her blouse without having to worry about scrimping

on our budget. And we no longer have to fret about having to divide 1

liter of soft drink or the meat pieces in the sinigang equally among us

children.

What remains constant is how we learned to rely on one another for

support, be it ―Pautang muna, OK lang?‖ (Can you lend me somemoney?) or ―Puwedeng patulong ako sa project ko?‖ (Can you help me

with my project?)

Faced with the tough challenge of having to best four prior valedictory

speeches, my youngest sister will brandish the most important gold

medal in today’s graduation ceremonies, but there is no disputing that

two persons in the audience deserve as much awe.

My father and my mother—for their love and support that know no

bounds—to them we owe all recognition.

Ronibats is the eldest son of Engr. Pablito and Rosemarie Baticulon.

http://ronibats.ph/2011/transitions/



http://ronibats.ph/lightning-crashes/on-learning/








Five Valedictorians

Documents

Transcript of Five Valedictorians