Grand Alumni Reunion Speech

Delivered by Normita Feliciano Fenn, President, Morong High School Alumni Association, Northern California Chapter, at the Grand Alumni Reunion in Tampa, Florida, August 2, 2003

        Thank you, Reynato.  I feel uniquely privileged to be here, enjoying the hospitality of our fellow alumni from the Sunshine State of Florida, led by Rudy and Lucy Bautista, along with the newly-inducted officers of the Florida Chapter, presided by Jojo Dolores.  Our sincere thanks to the Florida Chapter for hosting this Grand Reunion and all our Kababayans who helped make this event successful.  I am honored to have in this gathering our very own Dr. Olivia Feliciano De Leon, Class of 1965, president of the University of Rizal System.  Greetings to Atty. Ricardo Angeles, Jr., president of the Philippine Chapter, and our fellow alumni who came with him.  And to the Southern California Chapter led by Lolita San Diego Magsino.  And, to our fellow alumni from other parts of the U.S. and Canada; to our teacher, Mrs. Araceli Napiza Romero, Class of 1945, for joining us tonight.  And to Morong’s adopted son, Rev. Fr. Larry Paz.  Warm greetings to our guests and patrons who are here to celebrate with us, and to those who were unable to be here, let us keep them in our thoughts and in our hearts. 

I am here to represent my fellow officers and alumni from the Northern California Chapter, feeling proud of the spirit of unity and friendship we share.  I would like to congratulate Rudy and Lucy Bautista, Rogelio Arcia and Clem Gonzales for their outstanding service to the community and to our Association.  I commend the Recognition Award Committee for their challenging task in weighing the many contributions of these alumni. 

I am grateful to be a part of this gathering honoring the founder of Morong High School, the late Mr. Monico Mateo.  I thank his family for being here, to feel the love, gratitude and respect that we all have for Mr. Mateo.  The legacy of his work is forever ingrained in everyone who attended Morong High School.

          This day is indeed a bright day for our Association; a day of reflection, renewal of camaraderie among our classmates, in the true spirit of “Promoting Unity and Friendship”.  “Promoting Unity and Friendship”, strong words that are truly reflective of our Association’s determination to keep the ideals of our Alma Mater, Morong High School, alive in our hearts.   “Promoting Unity and Friendship”, as depicted on the cover of our souvenir book, has been given meaning, based on the concept of Rogelio Arcia, and brought to life by Nila San Miguel Soriano when she produced this cover.  That even though our Association has reached such global proportion, we remain United in pursuing every ounce of opportunity to be connected with one another; keeping the spirit of Friendship that we shared when we were in high school, so that those wonderful memories will inspire us to move forward toward a progressive association of Morong High School alumni.

While planning this event from a year ago, I learned from every conversation, from every task I undertook, feeling blessed to have worked with some of our alumni’s finest:  Ricardo Soriano and Eloy San Jose, both dedicated alumni who co-chaired our Souvenir Program Committee, along with their teammates, and everyone who worked hard in putting together such a treasured “Memory Book”.   My heartfelt thanks to our fellow alumni from No. California who graciously brought the souvenir books to this reunion.   

            When you look at the souvenir book, you will see a compilation of a membership directory of our alumni outside the Philippines, chaired by Susie San Jose.  Coordinators from Australia, Canada, and all over the U.S. joined us in this monumental undertaking.  It was a very inspiring task as I got updates from the coordinators, who responded to us with the enthusiasm of a high school kid, wanting to make sure that their classmates and old playmates are published and recognized.   Also, thanks to our travel coordinator, Lety Mateo, who formed groups of our alumni to travel together to be at this gathering; our cruise coordinator, Emma Soriano, who solicited attendees for our cruise tomorrow evening.  I thank all these committees for sharing our vision of unity and friendship.    Palakpakan po natin sila.

Moving forward, our Association needs to re-invigorate itself if it wants to grow and attract young alumni to participate.

The Association’s vision needs to be consistent and clear to our fellow alumni, so that they will gain a better understanding of our goals and objectives.  Part of this vision is our ability to share information, knowledge and resources so that, together, we can lift ourselves up to new heights in strength and accomplishments.

We need to lead by example, by creating innovative programs that are beneficial to our schools and to our community.  The University of Rizal System, under the helm of our fellow alumni, Dr. Olivia Feliciano De Leon, provides great academic, economic and social affluence to our town and the surrounding communities.  Before us is an opportunity for our Association to remain in the forefront of a prestigious educational system, through partnership in its academic, cultural and financial programs.   However, many of us have questioned the need to support the URS, when our Morong High School is gone forever.  That is indeed a valid question and a challenge for Dr. De Leon to help us justify our commitment.  The Northern California Chapter unanimously approved a motion early this year and submitted to URS, respectfully requesting the re-naming of the URS Laboratory High School to “Morong High School”.  We sincerely hope that Dr. De Leon will make this request become a reality!

Mga kamag-aaral, tayo ay magsaya sapagkat sa gabing ito at bukas pa, ay ating sasariwain ang mga nagdaang panahon ng ating kabataan, nuong tayo’y kasalukuyang pinahihirapan ng ating mga teachers upang tayo’y magsikap at matuto.  Ngayong nakarating na tayo sa ating paruruunan, saan man tayo naruruon, nawa’y huwag nating kakalimutang lumingon sa ating pinanggalingan.

Mabuhay, at magandang gabi po sa inyong lahat.  

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