BE A PART OF THE ALUMNI HOMECOMING BOOK SOUVENIR

March 7, 2011

Dear Alumnus/Alumna;

Greetings!

In our intent to make our 1st Grand Alumni Homecoming really memorable, we came up with an idea to publish a souvenir for the occasion which will serve as our memento that will highlight several important activities and information about our alma mater. Being the first of such a souvenir, we are sure alumni members would like to treasure it. It is our desire that each one of the alumni members should possess one copy.

But in order to bear the expenses of publishing the souvenir, we are obliged to depend on the income from advertisements from all interested alumni who wish to have a page or part thereof printed on the said souvenir. We wish to distribute it on the day of our alumni homecoming. But it may be difficult as we wish to include some of the pictures taken during our whole day activities. We believe it may take a week or more for the printing to be completed. 

It is our desire that alumni members should come forward to book advertisements in the souvenir. It can be a full page or part thereof at the following rates decided by the Committee on Souvenir Program. All those who book advertisements would be supplied a copy of the souvenir free of cost.

Outside back cover -  Php7,000.00

Inside front cover -           6,000.00
Inside back cover -            6,000.00
One whole page -               3,000.00
One half page -                   2,000.00
One fourth page -              1,000.00
 

For those who wish to have a copy but could not advertise in the souvenir, they can have a copy but we will collect payment of the printing cost. This would be announced in due course.

Interested alumni members  who wish to advertise may   deposit the advertisement payment  to the alumni account  and  send us the details thereof along with the  text of the their  ads by email  to: csusmalumni@gmail.com.

Please send the complete info of your ads stating the size and complete text of ads (photos are encouraged) through the above email add on or before March 20, to give time to the committee to make the lay-out and to facilitate the printing of the same.

CSU Alumni Association PNB Savings Account No. 296734600030
(Sanchez Mira Branch)
by: Dr. Lina M. Garan (CEO) and
Venelyn G. Bagasol (President)
and Dr. Shella B. Cacatian (Treasurer);
 

Thank you!

Very truly yours,

SGD.VENELYN GAJUDO-BAGASOL
President, CSU-SM Alumni Association
 

SGD.LINA M. GARAN, DPA

Campus Executive Officer

An Invitation Letter

January 31, 2011

Dear Alumnus/Alumna:

Our warm felicitations;

We are glad to inform you that the Cagayan State University, after sixty four (64) years of her existence from the time she was Sanchez Mira (Arranz) High School, will be holding the first-ever Grand Alumni Homecoming, dubbed as BATONLAGIP, come the 23^rd of April, 2011 from 7:00 in the morning to 9:00 in the evening.

After several meetings of the new set of alumni officers who were only elected last December 21, 2010, together with the Campus Executive Officer and the College Deans, we have lined up several activities and finally approved Program of Activities (please see attached sheet) on the said grand reunion day.

Considering that this is a grand alumni homecoming, we wish to invite all graduates (high school, college, post graduate) of the Sanchez Mira (Arranz) High School, Sanchez Mira Rural and Vocational School and now the Cagayan State University.

Together, let us enjoy the prepared activities for all of us and have a wonderful fellowship with everyone as we reminisce the good old happy days! Do come, explore the place where teachers challenged you, laughed with you, listened to you and learned with you. A place to let your dreams sing and your life speak with old friends and fond memories.

We are more than excited to see you all!

Very truly yours,

SGD. JANELYN D. IDICA, Ph.D

Secretary, Alumni Association

SGD. VENELYN GAJUDO-BAGASOL

President, Alumni Association

SGD. LINA M. GARAN, DPA

Campus Executive Officer

MEMORIES....

When nothing else is left, only memories remain. But these memories are powerful enough to let the person revive and relive the sweet-sorrow again and again and again.

That's what I felt when I scanned back the albums that Nanang carefully and neatly kept in our sala. I saw our pictures when I was yet a child. I saw the familiar places and faces as we grew up. Faces. Smiling faces. Younger faces. Jolly faces.

I saw how time took its toll on the faces and skins of both Tatang and Nanang. Both of them were full of vigor and life during their heydays. I saw Nanang standing on her two feet, a sight I missed before she left us.

I was able to recall our good ol' days way back in the forests of Nagbaranganan. The sights no longer hold true today. The last time I was there was in 1984, almost 25 years past. It was a place where Nanang and Tatang brought us up into who we are now. We stayed in one of the teachers' cottages inside the 105-hectare lot of the school. Our house was the first to be reached when walking from the school as one would follow the trek around the small hill overlooking the school grounds. In front of our house was a citrus orchard almost 3 hectares big. Tatang was the one taking care of the citrus plantation. I remembered how we used to snake into the depths of the plantation and pick the most luscious of the fruits that we could find. Can you imagine one crateful would cost only P15-20? And that would mean about 25-30 kilograms of fresh mandarin!

I also remembered way back when I was in first year high school, we cleared a wide area on the slope of the big mountain for us to plant pineapple. If my memory does not fail me, we must have planted not less than 6,000 pineapple plants. And in a year's time, each pineapple plant would bear a fruit - a whopping 6,000 fruits to harvest at the end of the cropping season. They were sold at P0.25 each! As I reminisce this experience, I can't believe how the Philippine peso then had a great purchasing power compared to these days.

I even experienced rendering student paid labor of P6.00 a day. At the end of the day after manually weeding out rows and rows of mungo plantation, I smile knowing that I already had another six pesos. And I did that daily during the summer months. How I loved the days when I received my hard-earned pay! It was heaven. A school year's tuition fee then was just P13.50.

There were a lot of occasions when my brother and I would go home early from school and go straight to the clear running brook from the slopes of the big mountain. We simply would creep the crevices of the stones under the water and we would be able to practically manually catch big shrimps hiding in those crevices. We would happily come back home with a basinful of our catch and served as our viand. Nanang was very happy each time that we come back home with full catch.

At night, Tatang, Dante, Arnel, and I, including some of our cousins, would go to the river to catch fish, shrimps, crabs, etc. using our locally-deviced electric catcher. I was almost always the one carrying the device. We were able to catch a variety of fish and shrimps. By almost 12 midnight, we would come back home all happy and contented. Our catch would serve as our viand for the next days.

Memories. Indeed they come as flashbacks like movie review. They come rushing and I still feel them as fresh as ever. And I thank God that I am still able to. Thank God, I still don't have Alzheimer's.

Written and contributed by: Ernesto U. Guillermo, Jr.

Valedictorian, SMRVS Batch 1984