Hopefully

By Christian Edu Villegas

(Vol. XXVI No. 11, Editorial Cartoon)

Hopefully

It’s been more than a month now since every one of us in this planet welcomed the year 2009, the Year of the Earth Ox, with high hopes and positive expectations. It’s been already a while since we started the journey in making new pages to compile another chapter of the history. It’s been sometime since we closed that chapter filled with hues and colors – the year 2008.

Looking back, for Negros Oriental State University (NORSU), the year 2008 had been a healthy chapter of its history. The university had been through a lot of transformations. New teachers and faculty members had been added to the university’s teaching and working force; the dress code policy was implemented; the construction of the College of Nursing and Allied Health Sciences building started; the university gate of Main Campus I was restructured; the blue guards took in-charge of the university’s security; the university started adapting the e-System – these were only some of the remarkable improvements embraced by the Norsunian community last year.

Along with these transformations are achievements that added significant pages to the history of NORSU. The year 2008 was a year of accomplishments for Norsunians, especially in topping national licensure examinations. It’s a year of adding laurels to the university and extending the long list of Norsunian achievers in the history.

To recall, on the May 2008 Civil Engineering Licensure Examination, Engr. Bernard Duran Jr. was named as the 5th top passer. Two months after Duran joined the list of topnotchers, another two Norsunians proved that the products of the university are of high calibers. The names of Engr. John Michael Villagonzalo and Engr. Christian George Pal-ing were placed on the 2nd and 5th spots, respectively, in the August 2008 Master Plumber Examination.

On September 2008, Catherine Capilla, a graduate of Bachelor of Elementary Education major in Special Education, ranked 10th in the Licensure Examination for Teachers. Capilla, who ranked first in the region and top ten nationwide, is the first Norsunian in history who was included in the top ten LET passers. The triumphs continued. On October 2008, two Norsunians made it to the top ten of the Mechanical Engineering Licensure Examination. Engr. Winston Gomez landed in the second top spot of the exam while Engr. Jephunneh Paalisbo was the 7th top passer.

These accomplishments, which were the highlights of 2008, are pages of the history that each Norsunian should be proud of. Despite the fact that there is an evident lack of facilities and equipment in the university, it is very inspiring to know that Norsunians excel as one of the bests and the finest in the nation.

That chapter had ended and here goes the university and the whole NORSU family paving pages of another chapter to NORSU’s history. As we look back to last year and continue journeying, it is not bad to hope for this year to have an increase in the record of achievers. It is not bad to cross our fingers that this year, like last year, would be another chapter of remarkable achievements for Norsunians – of showing what really a true-blue Norsunian can be.

More than that, it is not bad to hope that somehow, some longings of the students for equipment and facilities would finally be realized. It is not bad to pray that hopefully, the students’ concerns would be the main priority this year because if Norsunians did more with less, they could do more with adequate facilities and equipment.

Have a happy journey to 2009 everyone!