MOST of us have an award or trophy or plaque or medal now proudly on display in a special place at home.

It could be an award for something good we have done in our lives that served as inspiration to younger generations.

Or, it could be a trophy for loyalty and outstanding service we have rendered to the community or even the company where we earned our living.

Or, it could be a plaque for winning a spelling contest or a sing and dance competition during high school or a medal for playing so well in a basketball game during barangay fiestas.

Some of these trophies and plaques may now be gathering dust somewhere around the house. But everyone can always point with pride to something that he or she has won in lifetime.

I have a few.

Last year, the Professional Chess Association of the Philippines (PCAP) and the Philippine Racing Commission (PHILRACOM) honored me for my works as a sportswriter-editor for the widely-read People’s Tonight.

Last Jan.29, I received a special award when the De La Salle Araneta University also selected People’s Tonight as the “Most Outstanding Digital Tabloid” during its sixth Gawad La Sallianeta.

And last Feb.23-25, the E. Rodriguez Jr. High School, headed by Principal Gina L. Obierna, and ERJHS Alumni Association, led by Jess Asistin, voted me as “One of 10 Most Outstanding Alumni” on the occasion of ERJHS’s 72nd Foundation Day and Grand Alumni Homecoming,

A total of 1, 111 alumni from 50 different batches from 1959 to 2023 participated in the three-day festivities that gathered together the best and the brightest graduates of the leading public high school in Quezon City.

The organizing committee said it will be the first of yearly alumni celebration leading to ERJHS’s 75th founding anniversary on February, 2027.

Personally, the “10 Most Outstanding Alumni” award means a lot, considering it came from the very same institution where my soon-to-be 40-year career in journalism started.

You see, my love affair with journalism started when I took up the subject when I was in second year high school under my small but terrible teacher-adviser, Mrs. Conrada Dumpit.

I went on to become news editor of the “Heights”, the award-winning English school paper, under Ms. Mary Ceguerra, and sports editor of “Ang Ilaw” under Mrs. Teresita Martin, who also stood as one of my wedding sponsors back in December, 1988.

And as I look back at my long and colorful career as a newspaperman under some of the finest and most-respected editors at the Journal Group of Publications back in the summer of 1985, I will always fondly remember the three teachers who also served as my first three editors: Mrs. Dumpit, Ms. Ceguerra and Mrs. Martin.

As I received the award from Department of Education (DepEd) Schools Division Superintendent Dr. Carleen S. Sedilla and Principal Obierna, my thoughts travelled back to the early 80s when I was still tryng to learn the ropes under these three teachers-editors.

I would not be here or there without them.

Sharing the limelight on a lovely Friday evening with nine other outstanding individuals is also a very nice experience to remember.

The other outstanding alumni are Philippine Navy Commodore Albert Mogol of Batch 78 (military service), Monchie’s Lechon owner-manager Ramon Ferreros of Batch 73 (business), Tany Joe “TJ” Calalay of Batch 95 (public service), Lina, Fe and Zeny Castor and family (scouting), Connie and Precy Lorenzo (education), Jess Asistin of Batch 76 (alumni affairs), Eric David of Batch 72 (community service), Philippine National Police Lt. Col.Mike Gomez of Batch 88 (public service) and former Bureau of Fire Protection Chief Gen. Enrique Linsangan of Batch 69 (public service).

No doubt, all the nine other awardees have excelled in their rspective fields and achieved a lot to make our Alma Mater proud, They now serve as inspiration to current and future students, as all alumni should be.

Again, congratulations to the ERJHS family for organizing such a fun-filled three-day event and taking all of us back to a wonderful trip down memory lane.

* * *

While homecomings and reunions always give alumni the chance to reminisce about the good old high school life, the recent ERJHS 72nd Foundation Day and Grand Alumni Homecoming was also the perfect opportunity for current students to show what they can do to make their elders proud, too.

In particular, the award-winning Kalinangan Dance Group under MAPEH head Dante Ballesteros; and the ERJHS Chorale under Jonathan Vinluan deserve a round of applause for their outstanding performances during the Alumni Recognition Night last Feb. 23.

Even the ERJHS student-journalists, under advisers Ivy de la Cruz and Lorie Itoralba, and athletes, led by sports coordinator Mary Ann Sepe and coaches Raymond Balubar, Karen Florencio, Mary Grace Samson Muyon , Rowena Magsino, and Suzette Aniel Vicencio (taekwondo) and Andy Regala (chess) are doing very well.

Last month, ERJHS was voted as one of 10 top performing schools in English during the Division Secondary Schools Press Conference held at Quirino High School.

The athletes also made their presence felt in the recent Palarong Pambansa: Division Athletic Meet.

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