Good morning, Rev. Father Principal, Rev. Father Vice-Principal, Rev. Father Boris D’Santos, my colleagues, dear students and very, very specially the outgoing batch of 2011.
Today, on the 3rd of February, we have gathered here to bid farewell to this special group of young men, who after spending 12 years here, are waiting with indignation and anxiety, to leave the portals of this institution and step into a new world.
Twelve long years have gone by in the making of you gentlemen!
In these years, we have grown together – both you and us…. we have battled together… we have fallen together… and we have rejoiced together.
You have always been the subject of our actions, the object of our thoughts and the compliment of our endeavours.
It is through you gentlemen, that we have learnt so much. Yes, you have taught us so much! We thank you for it.
It is through you that we, once again, experience the joys of school life…. by being a part of your pranks, by sharing your secrets and by sharing your jokes.
Your days of adolescence, I must admit, were the toughest to deal with. We at times, might have been a little too harsh with you. But trust me, it was not to hurt you, but to make men out of you. It is all part of the process.
And today, as you stand at the other threshold of the institution, do not look back at what you have not done, but look forward to what you can do in the future and take with you the fond moments you cherished here.
So, gentlemen, we give you to the world armored with the X- factor— the XAVARIAN factor. Go! The world has a dearth of young educated men like you. Go! make the difference.
Be righteous in your actions, dignified in your ways. Let your words bring happiness to others and your actions bring hope. Be good to people on your way up. They will hold you up when you tumble down. Believe in yourself, and you can do what you want to do. And some time in the future, do come back to tell us the stories of your success____ for in your success lies our live’s fulfillment.
Before I end, I would like to share two lines with you____ I read it somewhere:
The future lies before you like a hidden mass of snow,
Be careful how you tread on it, for every mark will show.