Our Graduation (Class of 2022)

Good afternoon directors, teachers, parents, and dear classmates. We thank you all for witnessing this solemn ceremony with us today, in which we say goodbye, not only to the institution that formed us, but to a stage of our lives that has shaped us in every possible way. Today we say goodbye to the children we were when we began school, the ones that used to play on the big games and embrace the responsible citizens we are becoming. We say goodbye to our dear teachers, classmates, staff members, and every person within our community that has raised us as the responsible, respectful, honest, and caring individuals we are today. However, the lessons learned and the enriching experiences we’ve had will forever be an intrinsic part of, not only our lives, but also our identity and sense of self. The knowledge and worldview we have acquired as students have defined the type of adults we are becoming.

As we embark upon this new chapter of our lives, we welcome the new opportunities, experiences and successes that lie ahead. We thank our community for shaping us into who we are today, confident in our abilities to face any hardship along the way and realize our potential. We speak for all our schoolmates when we say that we will remember this honorable institution for the teachers and people that have strongly influenced us along the way and helped us to fulfil ourselves from Primary all the way through Secondary. And I couldn’t be more confident as Head Boy in the abilities of my classmates.

As global conditions become increasingly tense and overwhelming, the need for competent individuals grows. Our teachers and parents have done an excellent job forming and raising us in accordance with these needs, and the myriad academic challenges we’ve faced have provided us with an enriched worldview that will prove to be invaluable in our professional lives. From learning how to read, to elaborating thorough assessments for the International Baccalaureate Programme, we have gained and refined invaluable skills that have shaped our vision of the future, our future.

Not only have we fulfilled the expectations set upon us, but we’ve done so amid extraordinary circumstances. Online learning was fierce, and a true challenge, alongside the pandemic and crises that are still with us today.  The distance, the overwhelming uncertainty, and most importantly, the loss of lives are tremendous sorrows we still feel to this day. However, thanks to our resilience, we are here today, celebrating our ability to persevere and to keep moving forward.

Knowledge is not free, and it fulfills endless purposes beyond our understanding. But today, we see one of its products: the responsible citizens, and most importantly, the good people we graduate as. All this is due to the privileged education we have received. We leave school not only with a sense of self, but also with a sense of community and belonging. We enter a new phase of our lives with a vision of a future we want to build. This is the vision that unites us all, and we’ll carry within forever. And so, we thank our school, our directors and teachers, our parents, and each other, class of 2022, for this vision of our futures. We know you will always be with us.

Thank you.  

 

Rafaella Piscoya (Head Girl)

Borja Martinez-Piqueras (Head Boy)

First of all, I would like to say that I feel deeply honoured for this absolutely unimaginable opportunity to deliver a speech to this year´s graduates, Class of 2022.

I would also like to say that I feel very confortable in this environment, because I too am a graduate of a British  school from back in the sixties - the now gone Saint John’s School -; and during our interview with the Head of School and members of his staff, I realized that some of the activities we used to carry out in that distant time are still carried out today, such as the “Sports Day” and the “Poppy Day”, with which a well-deserved tribute is paid to veterans of the World Wars ( I remember the motto: “Lest we forget” ) which means it shouldn’t be forgotten, isn’t?

Permítanme continuar en castellano pues es lo que hacemos los diplomáticos peruanos cuando estamos en nuestro país.

Soy un funcionario del Servicio Diplomático del Perú, en retiro desde hace dos años, con 44 años de servicio a mi país, 20 de los cuales fueron en la categoría de Embajador.

Paralelamente a ocupar puestos de trabajo en Lima como en el exterior, desde joven opté por dedicar mis esfuerzos a servir, primero a mis colegas y sus familias a través de mi participación en la Asociación de Funcionarios del Servicio Diplomático del Perú - de la que fui su presidente - y que agrupa a la totalidad de los diplomáticos peruanos tanto en actividad, disponibilidad y retiro ( más de 900 funcionarios ) y en los últimos años en el Voluntariado Institucional de la Cancillería, como su Coordinador General, en donde ya no se busca el beneficio “hacia adentro”, sino “hacia afuera”, tratando de apoyar y ayudar a los sectores más necesitados de nuestra población, a través de campañas de solidaridad y proyectos sociales y lo que es más lindo, sin pedir nada a cambio.

Las campañas de solidaridad o humanitarias son de efecto inmediato o asistencialistas - apoyo a comedores populares o combate al friaje - mientras que los proyectos sociales, pilares fundamentales del Voluntariado tienen permanencia en el tiempo y buscan apoyar el desarrollo de la comunidad - ejemplo, Tantamaco en Puno -.

Al presente año, tenemos 13 años de intenso trabajo aún en tiempos de pandemia y me parece que debemos estar en el top 3 de los Voluntariados del sector estatal.

Señoras, señores, alumnos,

Estamos viviendo tiempos de globalización, desarrollo tecnológico, de redes sociales y una multiplicidad de información y comunicación en tiempo real, pero creo que ello no necesariamente ha ayudado al desarrollo de nuestra sociedad, pues si hay un denominador común es que estamos pasando por un difícil periodo de permanente pérdida de valores.

La inseguridad ciudadana y la corrupción, fenómenos tan cercanos a nosotros, son causados definitivamente por la ausencia de valores.

Yo creo que es una pandemia, como la del COVID 19, que consistentemente viene generando males como la falta de ética, de respeto, la deshonestidad, el egoísmo, la insensibilidad y lo que es peor, la falta de justicia.

Es muy lamentable ver como la falta de valores se ha interiorizado tanto en la familia, en lo social, lo político, lo cultural, lo económico, provocando conductas equivocadas; la ausencia de civismo por ejemplo: (¿ no han notado ustedes lo difícil que es cruzar una cebra en las esquinas pues los vehículos no se detienen, lo que es peor aceleran ? ¿O también no se han dado cuenta que hasta los vehículos de alta gama vienen con las luces direccionales aparentemente rotas de fabrica, pues nadie las utiliza para avisar que doblarán en las esquinas?).

¡Sacarle la vuelta a la norma - la conocida viveza criolla - o lo que en Derecho llamamos “hecha la ley hecha la trampa” es un modus vivendi y a nadie, repito, a nadie se le ocurre identificar eso con la ausencia de ética y la corrupción!

Me pueden decir que no es un fenómeno exclusivamente peruano y puede ser cierto, pero eso no debe ser consuelo para nadie y menos quedarse de brazos cruzados, ¿verdad?

Sin embargo, claramente no todo está perdido y creo que existen “oasis de esperanza” como por ejemplo ustedes alumnos de este centro educativo.

Señoras, señores, queridos alumnos,

Se que desde que ingresan muy niños al Colegio les inculcan  el compromiso social; y qué es eso? Pues nada menos que la búsqueda voluntaria del bienestar general por encima del personal. Allí ya están ustedes sirviendo a la comunidad.

Como una lógica consecuencia de cultivar el compromiso social, ustedes desarrollan la solidaridad, concepto que se sustenta en el respeto a la dignidad de las personas, sean quienes sean y que no es otra cosa que la conciencia de ayudar a quien más le hace falta; y ojo, es muy importante, estoy seguro que compromiso y solidaridad son valores que les son inculcados a ustedes tanto en el colegio como primordialmente en el hogar.

¿Saben ustedes que si tienen compromiso social y son solidarios en su vida diaria, por lógica consecuencia ustedes deben ser seres sensibles, empáticos, amistosos y justos?

No se extrañen de ello, pues lo que sucede es que justicia, amistad, empatía y sensibilidad son valores estrechamente relacionados con la solidaridad.

Por lo expuesto, podría decir que ustedes forman parte de lo que yo llamaría la nueva generación de la esperanza o también la generación del retorno de los valores; es decir, aquella que por su sólida formación, no debiera permitir que situaciones como la que estamos viviendo en los últimos años se repita en el futuro en el país.

Queridos amigos.

Servicio y Solidaridad es lo que hacemos cotidianamente en el Voluntariado del Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores y no encuentro palabras para explicarles la satisfacción que se siente por ejemplo cuando sabemos que 200 niños de la localidad de Jenaro Herrera en Loreto - distante 8 horas en canoa desde Iquitos - tienen su comida asegurada todo el año o los niños de Tantamaco - a 4,800 mts de altura - cuando concurren al colegio tienen aulas calientes y cobertizo para sus animales y sus mamás un taller de hilado que funciona con energía solar.

Hablando de servir, les pido que recuerden que uno debe ser siempre coherente con su conducta, ser en sociedad una persona íntegra como lo debe ser en otros ámbitos de la esfera personal y privada. Asimismo, mientras más tiempo ayudes a los demás, más feliz estarás contigo mismo!

Ahora que ingresen en la Universidad, aquí o en el extranjero, y en la profesión que escojan, nunca olviden de aplicar todo lo aprendido en las aulas y fuera de ellas pues solamente siendo mejores personas, con sólidos valores éticos, vamos a poder superar estos ingratos momentos; no es una frase hueca decir que el Perú del futuro está en vuestras manos, ¡así es!, y la “mochila” que deberán cargar es muy pesada, pero estoy seguro que el “gimnasio” que ha significado el Colegio para ustedes los ha preparado ya para el largo y tortuoso ejercicio que significa la vida que tendrán por delante… “ a very long and winding road indeed!

Queridos chicos,

Preparando estas palabras pensé que ustedes y nosotros del servicio diplomático tenemos mucho en común: compromiso, servicio, solidaridad, sentido de pertenencia a una institución, esos no son valores fáciles de conjugar en un solo grupo humano; por ello me permito aprovechar  esta ocasión para invitarlos muy cordialmente a que piensen, mediten, si luego de culminada su carrera profesional - cualquiera que ella sea - y ya como Bachilleres, se presenten a la Academia Diplomática del Perú para que, luego de dos años de estudios de Maestría, se conviertan en flamantes diplomáticos de carrera y representen, de esa manera, a nuestro querido país en el exterior.

Ciertamente, según se, ustedes siguen en el Colegio un modelo de Naciones Unidas, donde realizan una interesante introducción a lo que es la política multilateral; tal vez esa experiencia los motive a alguno de ustedes a unirse a nuestra gran familia diplomática una vez culminen su carrera profesional.

Como ejemplo, les puedo decir que inicié mi carrera en Bucarest, Rumania ( Europa del Este ) como Tercer Secretario allá por 1978, fui luego Segundo y Primer Secretario en Quito, Ecuador ( América del Sur ); retorné a Lima en 1985 y luego fui Consejero y Ministro Consejero en Londres, Inglaterra ( Europa Occidental ) de 1988 a 1993; fui enviado como Embajador en ciudad de Guatemala, Guatemala (América Central ) en 1996; fui Embajador Cónsul General en Caracas, Venezuela ( América del Sur ),año 2002 al 2007 y culminé mi carrera como primer Embajador del Perú en un país del Golfo Arábigo que fue Qatar, sede del pasado Mundial de Fútbol ( Medio Oriente, Asia ), del 2011 al 2016; como ven destinos variados en tres de los cinco Continentes, en donde tuve ocasión con mi esposa y familia de difundir los valores que nos distinguen como país, a la vez de servir al Perú.

¡No pueden ustedes imaginar por ejemplo la emoción que me embargó cuando un día del mes de mayo del 2011 izé el primer pabellón peruano en un país del Golfo Arábigo o Pérsico según lo vean desde Qatar o desde Irán!; o cuando siendo un joven Tercer Secretario de 28 años de edad saludé en nombre de mi país al entonces Presidente de Rumania, Nicolae Ceausecu, en mi entonces capacidad de Encargado de Negocios a.i. y lo hice en rumano. ¡Son recuerdos que me acompañarán por siempre!

I would like to finish these words quoting lyrics from my favourite group ever - The Beatles - (sorry dear Mr Cino not the Stones!), who sang way back in 1969: “ And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make “, ¡please guys remember that always, and be happy and enjoy your life!

Thank you very much

Thank you all for being here on this especially important occasion. Before addressing a few words to you, students of Prom 2022, I would like to mention your parents. With their wisdom, guidance, and love, they have given you the constant support that you needed to reach today’s milestone. With their words of encouragement, their hugs of affection and their timely reproaches, they have helped you to construct the foundations of your future.  Prom 2022, please put your hands together and give your parents a very loud and rapturous round of applause.

You are on a long journey, Prom 2022, and in a few minutes, you will complete the first major stage of it. Like any tall building, your future needs very solid foundations and during the last 17 years your home and your school have helped you to construct such strong foundations.

In a few minutes you will leave behind the security and protection of CPB and you will venture into a new world of exciting opportunities and daunting challenges. You are living in times of very rapid change, and it is difficult to predict what life will be like next year, not to say in five years’ time when you will probably graduate from university.

In March 2020, when COVID struck Peru, and schools had to close, your lives were turned upside down. You had to adapt to new realities, live and learn in ways with which you were not familiar, dig deep into your bank of resilience and perseverance. You made it and you are now better prepared for the new challenges that the future will undoubtedly bring.

Around 50 years ago, another young man was in your shoes. His name was Steve Jobs, the co-founder of Apple. Steve was raised by a lower middle-class family in Silicon Valley where he developed an interest in engineering. On leaving school, he decided he wanted to enrol at Reed College, an expensive university which his parents could not really afford. They sacrificed all their savings and Steve enrolled. After 6 months Steve withdrew from the course he was enrolled on. He could not see the value in it. However, he did not quit college. He slept on the floor of his friends’ rooms and returned coke bottles for the 5 cents deposit so that he could buy food.

He had dropped out of his registered course, but he started dropping in on classes that interested him. He loved going to calligraphy class and learning about different writing fonts. Ten years later he designed the first computer with beautiful typography, the Mac, and revolutionized the capacity of computers.

Given the sacrifices his family had made to pay for his university studies, dropping out of his chosen course could not be considered anything but a failure, yet it was one of the best decisions in his life. It allowed him to discover his true professional vocation. And there were more important failures that positively influenced his life.

At the age of 20, Steve Jobs started Apple in his parents’ garage with his friend, Woz. Ten years later Apple had become a $2 billion company with over 4,000 employees. And then the unimaginable happened - Steve had to leave the company he had dedicated all his adult life to! He and the board of directors had a difference of vision and so he was dismissed.

It was a very humbling experience, but he did not quit doing what he loved best. In the next five years he created the companies NeXT and Pixar. Pixar produced the world’s first animated feature film, “The Toy Story”, and NeXT was bought by Apple. Steve Jobs was back at the company he had helped to build.

In his famous graduation speech at Stanford University in 2005 he reminded us of the positive power of failure. He publicly confessed:

“…getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could ever have happened to me. The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything…. It was awful-tasting medicine, but I guess the patient needed it. Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don’t lose faith.”

At times, life can be an extremely complicated journey, we have learnt that from the pandemic, but we must not lose faith.

Like Steve Jobs, JK Rowling, author of the famous Harry Potter series, also came from a poor family who had saved hard to send her to university. They did not want her to suffer the same poverty that they had endured and so they encouraged her to study a career that would ensure her a decent salary. However, she wanted to be a writer and was desperate to study English Literature. They reached a compromise, and she studied Modern Languages. A few months later she abandoned this course and began to study Classics, that is Latin and Greek. You can imagine her parents’ fears – their daughter was going to become an unemployed expert on Greek mythology!

In her commencement speech at Harvard University in 2008, Miss Rowling recalls that what she feared most as an undergraduate was not poverty but failure. Seven years after her graduation ceremony she admits that she had failed on an epic scale: her marriage had lasted just a few years, she was unemployed, a lone parent and poor. She was a loser by all definitions, with little light at the end of the tunnel!

However, as in the life of Steve Jobs, her failure became the liberating experience she needed to succeed. At Harvard she explained this very articulately:

“Failure meant a stripping away of the inessential. I …. began to direct all my energy into finishing the only work that really mattered to me…. I was set free because my greatest fear had been realized, and I was still alive, and I still had a daughter whom I adored, and I had an old typewriter and a big idea. And so rock bottom became the solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life.

It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not live at all – in which case, you fail by default.”

Prom 2022 do not live so cautiously and fail by default.

In one of my favourite films, The Dead Poets’ Society, Professor Keating tells his new English class to “Seize the day” (“Carpe diem”) and make their lives extraordinary. This is my main message to you today, Promotion 2022, MAKE YOUR LIVES EXTRAORDINARY. You are young and therefore, you have not been tamed by caution yet. Be bold and attempt the impossible, like generations of young people have done before you, and you will be astounded by what you are capable of. Maintain the enthusiasm of your youth and do not allow the heaviness of advancing years to make you complacent. Sometimes the road ahead is full of obstacles and will obscure sight of your goals. But do not worry and keep believing in yourselves. As one of the greatest Americans of all time, Martin Luther King, said:

“Take the first step in faith. You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.”

One of my favourite poems is by the Uruguayan author, Mario Benedetti. It is about not losing faith and it is called “No te rindas”. There is an English translation of the poem, but the original Spanish version is much more beautiful. Allow me to read it to you in Spanish.

No te rindas, aun estas a tiempo
de alcanzar y comenzar de nuevo,
aceptar tus sombras, enterrar tus miedos,
liberar el lastre, retomar el vuelo.

No te rindas que la vida es eso,
continuar el viaje,
perseguir tus sueños,
destrabar el tiempo,
correr los escombros y destapar el cielo.

No te rindas, por favor no cedas,
aunque el frio queme,
aunque el miedo muerda,
aunque el sol se esconda y se calle el viento,
aún hay fuego en tu alma,
aún hay vida en tus sueños,
porque la vida es tuya y tuyo también el deseo,
porque lo has querido y porque te quiero.

Porque existe el vino y el amor, es cierto,
porque no hay heridas que no cure el tiempo,
abrir las puertas, quitar los cerrojos,
abandonar las murallas que te protegieron.

Vivir la vida y aceptar el reto,
recuperar la risa, ensayar el canto,
bajar la guardia y extender las manos,
desplegar las alas e intentar de nuevo,
celebrar la vida y retomar los cielos,

No te rindas, por favor no cedas,
aunque el frio queme,
aunque el miedo muerda,
aunque el sol se ponga y se calle el viento,
aún hay fuego en tu alma,
aún hay vida en tus sueños,
porque cada día es un comienzo,
porque esta es la hora y el mejor momento,
porque no estás sola,
porque yo te quiero.

As the poem says, Prom 2022, never give up pursuing your dreams. Every day is a new beginning. Spread your wings and celebrate life.

I hope the friends you are sitting next to today, remain your friends for life. Remember your school, it is part of your roots.

And finally, I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone here a very Merry Xmas and a peaceful and fulfilling 2023.

As the Scottish people like to say, “Enjoy life whilst you are alive, because you are a long time dead.”

Thank you for your attention and enjoy the rest of this ceremony.