(Speech of FEU President Michael M. Alba delivered last August 26, 2016)

Good morning. I am exhilarated at seeing the bright faces of our high school teachers and heady with the infectious energy of our students and their leader, our executive director of the FEU High School, Ms Reg Sibal.

Thank you, everyone, for your presence at this blessing of the newly renovated and totally overhauled Nursing Building, which we are rededicating as the home of the resurrected FEU High School.

Admittedly, we have all been anxious about the implementation of the senior high school program and its impact on college enrollments during the five-year transition period. But we at Far Eastern University have considered it as a challenge to be faced head on and an opportunity to improve who we are and what we do.

Indeed, in the case of the FEU High School, the last two years since its incorporation in April 2014 have been characterized by intensive preparations to deliver on the High School’s institutional mission to provide quality education that prepares its graduates for the world of work, for college, and for life.

And in today’s dedication of this hall, we here are affirming this mission. This building, repurposed, is the the new face and look of the FEU High School – modern in function but still grounded on and reflecting the traditions of Far Eastern University, the mother institution from which it springs.

The architectural character of this hall may not share the art deco theme of the other buildings like the Nicanor Reyes Hall, the Administration Building, and the Science Building. Nonetheless, the structure has long been regarded with considerable sentiment, occupying as it does a prominent location along Nicanor Reyes Street. This site both embodies and enhances the university’s traditions and history.

In the renovations that began in May last year and were completed in April this year, the challenge was not just how to pull off the construction project, but to consider cost efficiency and aesthetics. The refurbished infrastructure comes with sophisticated facilities that are more dependable and equipped with highly energy-efficient centralized air conditioning and fire alarm detection systems and modern laboratories.

The 1st to the 6th floors have a total of 32 classrooms, three science laboratories, and one computer laboratory with three reading areas. The 7th and 8th floors are allocated for the Institute of Nursing.

In addition, many of the core facilities, such as the Multipurpose Room, Cafeteria, Copier Center, and Riso Printing are conveniently located at the Ground Floor. The 6,276 total square-foot area is now the second home to some 2,000 number of Senior High School students.

As much as we are excited about our state-of-the-art facilities, we are equally proud of our student-centered, values-oriented, and competency-laden curriculum. Our dynamic teaching methods and educational practices make full use of learning spaces that facilitate collaborative work among our students, encourage interdisciplinary learning, and, most importantly, foster a love of learning and the pursuit of wisdom.

With our technology-enabled and project-based learning activities, we envision FEU High School as a nurturing athenaeum that molds our students to become critical thinkers, good communicators, digitally literate lifelong learners, morally upright persons, and socially responsible citizens.

The high-minded goal is to bring into being a Tamaraw primed to thrive in the 21st century and capable of charting and creating his or her own future (the emergent skill most needed by millennials).

And so to close, let all these purposes and dreams then be included in our intentions as we bless this building. Thank you.