Honoring of Faculty & Staff Retirees SY 2024–2025
by Asst. Prof. Michaelito A. Naldo
College of Agriculture
This is the speech delivered by College of Agriculture faculty member and retiree, Asst. Prof. Michaelito A. Naldo, at the Honoring of Faculty & Staff Retirees for SY 2024-2025.
Good afternoon to everyone. On behalf of my fellow retirees, thank you for gathering with us today. We stand here not only as individuals who have completed years of service, but as a community shaped, challenged, and transformed by Silliman University.
Many of us arrived in Dumaguete and at Silliman with our own hopes and uncertainties. Some of us came from far places, some from just across the street—but all of us stepped onto this campus carrying the same quiet dream: to live meaningful lives by serving others. And somehow, in ways we could never have predicted, Silliman met us with open doors, open arms, and open hearts.
Our years here taught us lessons far deeper than those in our classrooms or offices. Like many of you, we entered our work thinking we had much to give—yet we leave knowing that we were the ones who received even more. We were humbled, time and again, by how much we still needed to learn. We discovered that true teaching, true service, and true leadership do not begin with expertise, but with humility—with remembering that we walk alongside our students, our colleagues, and each other as co-learners.
We also learned that no matter how much we planned, guided, or instructed, we were never fully in control. Our students, our teams, and the young people around us were carving their own paths, making their own choices. And so, we realized that the most lasting thing we could offer was not only knowledge, but example—living lives of integrity, kindness, generosity, and respect. If they remembered anything from us, we hoped it was that.
Today, as we retire, we do not step away from those values. Instead, we carry them with us— into our families, our communities, and whatever quiet or exciting paths lie ahead. Retirement is not an ending; it is simply another beginning in our lifelong journey of learning and serving.
To Silliman University: thank you for shaping us, stretching us, and allowing us to be part of a mission far greater than ourselves. Thank you for giving our families a home, our children a community, and our spirits a place to grow.
To our colleagues, administrators, staff, and students—past and present—thank you for walking with us. You have been our teachers as much as we have been yours.
And to my fellow retirees: today we honor not only the years we gave, but the lives we touched, the friendships we built, and the quiet, faithful work we offered day after day. We leave with full hearts, grateful for a journey that has changed us forever.
Daghang salamat, and may God bless us all.
