06/08/2026
๐๐๐๐๐ | โ๐๐ข๐๐ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐๐ซ๐๐ ๐ข๐ฅ๐โ: ๐๐ข๐๐ง๐จ๐ค ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ ๐๐ฌ ๐ ๐ซ๐๐๐ฎ๐๐ญ๐๐ฌ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ฏ๐๐ฅ๐ฎ๐ ๐ฅ๐ข๐๐ ๐ฐ๐ก๐ข๐ฅ๐ ๐ฉ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ข๐ซ ๐๐ซ๐๐๐ฆ๐ฌ
โ๐๐ช๐ง๐ฆ ๐ช๐ด ๐ง๐ณ๐ข๐จ๐ช๐ญ๐ฆ. ๐๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฎ๐ด ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ช๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ต๐ข๐ฏ๐ต. ๐๐ถ๐ค๐ค๐ฆ๐ด๐ด ๐ช๐ด ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ข๐ถ๐ต๐ช๐ง๐ถ๐ญ. ๐๐ถ๐ต ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฎ ๐ฎ๐ข๐ต๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต ๐ญ๐ช๐ง๐ฆ ๐ช๐ต๐ด๐ฆ๐ญ๐ง.โ
For many, graduation marks the fulfillment of years of hard work. For Class Valedictorian Jeanette Tianok, it became a reminder that no medal, title, or dream could ever outweigh the value of life itself.
In her valedictory address during the 54th Commencement Exercises of Mindanao State UniversityโTawi-Tawi College of Technology and Oceanography, Tianok encouraged the graduating Class of 2026 to pursue their dreams without losing sight of their health, faith, and the people who matter most.
Raised in Bongao, Tawi-Tawi, Tianok spent 17 years at MSU-TCTO, from kindergarten to earning her Bachelor of Arts in History. She said studying history taught her that it is not only about dates, wars, or famous people, but also about ordinary individuals whose choices leave a lasting impact.
โ๐๐ช๐ด๐ต๐ฐ๐ณ๐บ ๐ช๐ด ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐บ ๐ข๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ฆ. ๐๐ต ๐ช๐ด ๐ข๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฅ๐ช๐ฏ๐ข๐ณ๐บ ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ด๐ฆ ๐ค๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ช๐ค๐ฆ๐ด ๐ค๐ฉ๐ข๐ฏ๐จ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ญ๐ช๐ท๐ฆ๐ด. ๐๐ต ๐ต๐ฆ๐ข๐ค๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ด ๐ถ๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ๐บ ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ฎ๐ข๐ต๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด, ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ๐บ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ช๐ต๐บ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ด ๐ข ๐ด๐ต๐ฐ๐ณ๐บ, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ๐บ ๐ญ๐ช๐ง๐ฆ ๐ค๐ข๐ฏ ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐ข ๐ญ๐ฆ๐จ๐ข๐ค๐บ,โ she said.
Looking back, Tianok realized that while she was studying history, she was also writing a story of her ownโone marked by perseverance, faith, and unexpected challenges.
Behind her academic achievements, she admitted, were years of self-doubt, pressure, and sacrifices that many people never saw.
โ๐๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฌ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ข๐ณ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ญ๐ข๐ด๐ด๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฎ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ถ๐จ๐ฉ๐ต ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ๐บ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ข๐ด ๐ด๐ฎ๐ข๐ณ๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ฏ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ? ๐ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ. ๐๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ธ๐ข๐ฏ๐ต๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฒ๐ถ๐ช๐ต? ๐ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ,โ
she shared.
However, just weeks before graduation, her journey took an unexpected turn when she underwent emergency surgery.
She recalled that while lying in the hospital, thoughts of grades, awards, and Latin honors no longer mattered. Instead, she found herself praying for another tomorrow.
โ๐๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ง๐ช๐ณ๐ด๐ต ๐ต๐ช๐ฎ๐ฆ, ๐ ๐ธ๐ข๐ด ๐ฏ๐ฐ ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐จ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฌ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ข๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต ๐ฎ๐บ ๐จ๐ณ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ด. ๐ ๐ธ๐ข๐ด ๐ฏ๐ฐ ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐จ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฌ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ข๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต ๐๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ฏ ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ด. ๐ ๐ธ๐ข๐ด ๐ฏ๐ฐ ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐จ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฌ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ข๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต ๐ข๐ธ๐ข๐ณ๐ฅ๐ด. ๐ ๐ธ๐ข๐ด ๐ด๐ช๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ญ๐บ ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ข๐บ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ, โ๐ ๐ข ๐๐ญ๐ญ๐ข๐ฉ, ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ข๐ด๐ฆ ๐จ๐ช๐ท๐ฆ ๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ต๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ธ,โ she said.
The experience, she said, changed her definition of success and reminded her that achievements lose their meaning without life itself.
Since she was young, her mother taught her a simple lesson: always say โAlhamdulillah,โ whether life is easy or difficult, and whether prayers are answered or not. She reflected that โsometimes what feels like rejection today is actually Godโs protection for tomorrow.โ
She shared that her plan was to study Accountancy at another MSU campus. At first, she did not understand why she stayed at TCTO, but now she does.
โ๐๐ง ๐ญ๐ช๐ง๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ฅ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ญ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ฎ๐บ ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐ด, ๐ ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ต๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ. ๐๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ต๐ช๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ด, ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ด๐ต ๐ค๐ฉ๐ข๐ฑ๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ญ๐ช๐ท๐ฆ๐ด ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐จ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฏ ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐ด ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฅ,โ she said.
She also took time to thank the people who supported every graduate. She further shared that she grew up in a family of ten children, highlighting her motherโs unconditional love and support, as well as the quiet sacrifices that taught her the true meaning of love. She also acknowledged her fatherโwho worked tirelessly to provide for their familyโemphasizing that her achievement also belongs to her family.
On behalf of her fellow graduates, she expressed her gratitude to their professors, mentors, university staff, classmates, and friends who became part of their journey.
โ๐๐ฆ๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ๐บ ๐ด๐ถ๐ค๐ค๐ฆ๐ด๐ด๐ง๐ถ๐ญ ๐จ๐ณ๐ข๐ฅ๐ถ๐ข๐ต๐ฆ ๐ช๐ด ๐ข๐ฏ ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ช๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ช๐ต๐บ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ฒ๐ถ๐ช๐ฆ๐ต๐ญ๐บ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ถ๐ด ๐ข๐ญ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ข๐บ,โ she said.
Addressing her fellow graduates, she reminded them that their diplomas are not the finish line but rather their starting point. She also noted that the world does not only need intelligent people but also honest, kind, and responsible individuals. She highlighted the importance of character, which will be remembered years from now. โAnd that is the kind of success worth pursuing,โ she said.
She also spoke to students who will graduate someday:
โ๐๐ข๐บ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฌ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ด๐ฎ๐ข๐ณ๐ต ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ถ๐จ๐ฉ. ๐๐ข๐บ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ต๐ณ๐ถ๐จ๐จ๐ญ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฒ๐ถ๐ช๐ฆ๐ต๐ญ๐บ. ๐๐ข๐บ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ข๐ณ๐ณ๐บ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฃ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ฏ๐ฐ ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ฌ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ด ๐ข๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต. ๐๐ข๐บ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฐ๐ฅ๐ข๐บ ๐ง๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ด ๐ช๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ด๐ด๐ช๐ฃ๐ญ๐ฆ. ๐๐ถ๐ต ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ข๐ด๐ฆ, ๐ฅ๐ฐ ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต ๐จ๐ช๐ท๐ฆ ๐ถ๐ฑ.โ
She encouraged them to keep learning, keep praying, and keep showing up.
As her valedictory address came to an end, Tianok once again turned her attention to her fellow graduates, emphasizing the importance of writing their own historyโone filled with kindness, integrity, compassion, and faith.
She encouraged them to carry the name of MSU-TCTO with pride, no matter how far they travel or how successful they become. Above all, she reminded them never to forget where they started, the people who supported them, and to always remember to say, โAlhamdulillah.โ
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Words by Sharifa G. Abduharan& Zhamil Yesha B. Egil
Layout by: Habibun-Najal Kayting
