A Better XA Everyday than Yesterday

Filbert Tiu (H3, GS Xavier Awardee SY 2003-2004)
 
Posted Friday, 09-Feb-2007 2:55 PM

This speech was delivered during the Grade School Morning Assembly as part of the activities for the Search for the Xavier Awardee.

              Good morning! It’s a pleasure to be invited to speak in front of the community who contributed a lot in making me who I am today. The Grade School community has truly shaped me by offering me a handful of opportunities to be of service to the school as well as nurture my talents and skills allowing me to embody what it is to be a Xavier Awardee. And, there’s no other proof of all these but the very fact that I’m here today speaking to you.

              The Xavier Award has been the richest prize in Xavier School and has made decades of history. Every school year, Xavier looks at its students with great hope and expectation searching for outstanding individuals who live out the Xavier ideals. However, it’s not always easy to spot remarkable persons without really understanding what it is you’re looking for in them.

              For the past weeks, Xavier Awardees have been speaking to you and helping you grasp the real essence of a Xavier Awardee. For today, I’ll be focusing on 3C’s which all of us should look out for whenever we take our pick on our awardees.

              First is Character. When we say character, many would think about one’s personality. There have been many great awardees, each having their own unique personality. Some are serious with work, some have a great sense of humor, and others are people-persons having many friends as support. With that, how would we exactly determine the personality of a Xavier Awardee when there are so many possibilities?! This is usually where people box potential awardees with their own criteria. How do we solve this? It’s as simple as focusing more on one’s attitude over one’s personality. But what’s the difference anyway? Maybe it would be best to put it into one statement: “Xavier Awardees each have their own unique personality, but they all have one common attitude towards Xavier’s Vision, Mission and Goals--to be better individuals everyday than yesterday.” Remember that!

              Second, we have Conscience. One thing I want each of you to take note of is that you don’t have to be holy or religious to embody conscience. If so, what is conscience then? Conscience is having faith, in other words, it is having a sense of confidence in a greater power. Conscience is believing in ourselves and that we are capable of doing things not because we are great but because of a superior being--God. This is where humility is most important. You see, humility is not just being meek and modest about your skills, talents, achievements and other capabilities; it’s actually more of a selfless act of giving the credit of everything you do to others instead of yourself--in this case, God.

              Third is Competence. I’m sure if I ask some of you now, majority would mention about academic achievements. If you are smart enough to actually take a second look at your awardees, you would discover that not all of them are honor students or are they all very intellectual. Competence is neither anchored to one’s excellence and achievement nor to one’s academic performance alone. So how do we look for competent people? Simply look at the effort they give to achieve something. Competence is measured not by success but by hard work. Being able to overcome laziness and mediocrity is competence. Not giving up despite failing--that is competence. Competence is not about reaching the destination; it is about the journey you take to get there.

              So you see, everything actually boils down to one’s decisions, as my dad told all of you a couple of weeks ago. All of us have choices to make each day and we must choose the right ones in order to be the best we can. When it’s time to select a whole new batch of awardees, I hope you all remember to focus more on one’s attitude over one’s personality, on one’s humility before God and on one’s effort over one’s success. Guys, character, conscience, competence as well as community, culture and compassion are what make up a true Xaverian--no doubt, a Xavier Awardee. But, remember this, it is only because that Xaverian chooses so--He chooses to become better everyday than yesterday! Thank you all for listening!

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