Our Nueva Vizcaya State University started as a Bayombong farm settlement school  in 1916, absorbed as a flailing secondary school by the Nueva Vizcaya High School in 1930, literally destroyed and razed to the ground in 1941. In August 1945, like the phoenix, it rose from the ashes and re-opened its doors as the Nueva Vizcaya Rural High School. (A year after, in June 1946, the Southern Nueva Vizcaya Junior High School was established - the beginnings of our university’s Bambang campus.) It attained universityhood in 2004, by virtue of RA 2232.

NVSU is a very young university, notwithstanding its 91 and 61 -  year old bifocal history. It has arrived, in splendor, but not without its own share of bruises. Tried and polished like a diamond, it now shines – thanks to the combined efforts of our NVSU family (students, faculty, staff, retirees, alumni) and our civil society.

In the past couple of years, NVSU has managed to respond to the challenges of Universityhood – a vision for excellence and peace: rationalization of its structure and programs;  development plans crafted through participatory governance; university policies and guidelines in place; an empowered studentry and inspired faculty with competitive qualifications and high self esteem; a clear-cut  university income-generating scheme for sustainability; aggressive fund-sourcing measures; a nourished respect for cultural nuances and attention to its upliftment; and Joey Ayala’s “Mahal Naming NVSU” that touches the heart and propels to greater heights the dignity of everyone.

Students, faculty members and researchers reaped honors for NVSU in many ways : best paper and poster awards; a post-doctoral fellowship and faculty scholarships here and abroad; championships in various areas of student competitions  to include Bayer environmental envoys, TOSP, and board topnotchers; level III accreditations, to name a few.

Institutional internationalization became a reality through operational linkages made with academic and research institutions in Thailand, Spain, China, India  and Taiwan. In the pipeline are similar institutions in Korea, Uganda, the Netherlands and the USA. As of now, 5 students are undergoing a language program in preparation for their going to Spain as exchange students and selection is going on for the first batch of 10 exchange students/ faculty  to Hunan Agricultural University in China. To date, several batches of  faculty, staff and students have gone abroad for global educational and cultural exposures and exchange. . . .and this is just for starters.

Yes, NVSU has transcended from being a seat of knowledge to be a seat of wisdom. NVSU HAS ARRIVED. And it is beginning to soar like an eagle.

But development and change are interrelated. One finds it hard to determine which one is the precursor of the other. One thing is for sure though. We all need to adjust to change. After all, change is inevitable if one wishes to be developed. Yes, for the better.

It has been said that ‘the only reason for evil to triumph is when a few good men do nothing’. SO LET US ALL STAY FOCUSED – focused towards one common goal. Let us continue working together as one, trusting each other as we do ourselves. Let us continue seeing the good things in everything and everyone around us. Let us continuously strengthen our faith in God and in our fellowmen. Let us continue believing in the goodness of God and that of every human being we get in contact with. It is easy to lose track when we get distracted. It is easy to get lost if we keep on looking backwards instead of forward. It is easy to see the miniscule spot that represents what is wrong if we stop looking at the surrounding universalities which represent everything that is right. It is easy to be prejudiced when we have lost trust in others as we keep on nurturing bitterness in our hearts.

We wish to soar like an eagle, but let us remember that sans figurative expressions, the eagle is an endangered species that has to be protected. Historically, NVSU literally surmounted the ravages of war and figuratively rose from its own ashes like the proverbial phoenix. But, let us remember too, that there is no mention in mythology of the phoenix rising again from the same ashes of rubbles razed twice. There is no second chance.

So let us protect what we have and what we are. Let us rise together to greater heights. The eagle and the phoenix have one thing in common. They are both symbols of excellence. They are both paragons of  peace.

The nourishment of excellence and peace is the vision of this university. It is also the dream of every human being. Yet everything starts in our hearts.

God bless us all.