The officers of the SEARCA Scholars Association (SSA) for School Year 2009/2010 were inducted in a formal ceremony held on 24 July 2009 at the SEARCA Residence Hotel in Los Baņos, Laguna, Philippines.

Dr. Edith Cedicol (far left) leads the new officers of the SEARCA Scholars Association in the oath-taking ceremony.

Dr. Editha C. Cedicol, Manager, Graduate Scholarship Department, SEARCA, serves as the adviser to the Association.

Dr. Gil C. Saguiguit, Jr., Center Officer in Charge delivers an inspirational talk to the scholars.

Dr. Cedicol also gave a message of encouragement to the scholars. In her message, Dr. Cedicol emphasized to the scholars the importance of having the right attitude towards study, work, and their fellowmen. She said there is always truth in the saying, “your attitude determines your altitude, and that how one conducts oneself determines how high one goes up or how low one falls down. She urged the scholars to study hard, make full and productive use of their time, make new friends, plan well, socialize, have fun, but keep track of the time and exert effort to finish on time.”

Outgoing SSA President Artemio A. Martin, Jr. also gave a report of the Association’s activities during his term in a slideshow presentation.

The induction ceremony was followed by a dinner hosted by the Association and an acquaintance party attended by the new and ongoing scholars pursuing their graduate programs at the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) and GSD staff.

The SSA is based at UPLB as the majority of ongoing scholars pursue their graduate programs at UPLB in any given year. This school year, 77 of 105 ongoing SEARCA scholars are studying at UPLB.