Alfredo E. Pascual
President, University of the Philippines System
Isang mapagpalang araw sa inyong lahat!
Congratulations to the University of the Philippines Nursing Alumni Association International (UPNAAI, Inc.) on your 36th Anniversary!
I also congratulate the organizers and officers of UPNAAI, led by its President Jesusa Santa Barbara Czach for mounting a convention in order to celebrate this important milestone, which is a testament to UPNAAI’s many accomplishments.
UPNAAI does not only foster a strong bond between UP and our alumni, but also truly embodies Honor and Excellence—virtues that all UP alumni swore to uphold before leaving the premises of our university. Beyond doubt, the UPNAAI is central to the fulfillment of the UP College of Nursing’s (UPCN) mission to provide innovative leadership and distinction in nursing development in the global community.
To me, your success is hardly a surprise. Your distinguished roster of membership include many UP-Philippine General Hospital School of Nursing and the UP College of Nursing’s best and brightest. Combining a rigorous intellect with a heart that beats for the less fortunate, UP Nursing graduates are known the world over as dynamic leaders in your profession. Committed as it is to UP’s motto of Shaping Minds that Shape the Nation, the School and the College have produced graduates that excel both by providing first-rate service, and through initiatives that change lives and enrich societies.
It is only fitting that the UPNAAI’s 2015 convention theme is “Transforming the Future: Waves of Change, Oceans of Opportunity”. This theme reflects the passion that nursing graduates of UP produces to become successful change agents in society and to work together to create a safer, healthier world.
With no less than Dean Lourdes Marie Tejero of the UPCN in attendance, I know that we can engage more nursing alumni, through UPNAAI, to develop more worthy projects with regional and global rearch. From 2013-2014, for instance, the UPCN spearheaded the upgrading of Cambodian nurses to help them become better care providers, educators, researchers, and manager-leaders through the Cambodia Nurse Bridging Program (CNBP). Two alumni nurses also shared their expertise in psychiatric nursing, mental health nursing, and intra-operative nursing to 29 of their peers via the same program.
With the help of UPNAAI, I am sure that UP can spearhead similar programs that serve both the Filipino people, the global community and humanity in general. I am looking forward to the many other creative ways our nursing alumni can set out to resolve several of our healthcare problems as true change makers and scholars of the people.
As you all come together to happily reminisce the past and earnestly plan our brighter future, I wish the UPNAAI many more years of successful projects and distinguished service. May you all carry on your duties and responsibilities with honor and integrity in your hearts and excellence in your deeds.
I am one with you in your anniversary celebration! Good luck!
Mabuhay ang UPNAAI! Mabuhay ang UP!
