EDITHA HARDER MIJARES-ARDIENTE
Idyllic Sister Premier 1965

Greetings! It is with great pleasure that I join you, albeit in Spirit only, on the 45th Anniversary of the founding of our Sorority. I feel very honored and fortunate to be a Sister. We should all be very grateful for the vision of our founder, brother Atty. Tomas Sajo, who then and until now, saw a need for reminding students to acknowledge the gifts that the Almighty has given each of us and to share those gifts with others. I joined the Sorority 44 years ago at the invitation of my Manang Evelyn Camposano Jiz. I admired her a lot, and still do – a campus leader, a writer, a speaker, a scholar and a most humble and caring individual. Being in the Sorority put me in the company of high achievers like her, students who achieve not only for themselves but also for their families, their friends, their classmates and their beloved University. The theme of the 45th Anniversary Celebration, “Forging Spirituality and Quality Service for Others and Ourselves” resonates very well with me for many reasons. As an Augustinian, I feel very blessed to have classmates, friends and fellow alumni who believe and practice our motto of “Virtus et Scientia”. This is very evident in the many successful Augustinian alumni in the Philippines, in the United States of America and in other countries. They have utilized the great education that they received from the University of San Agustin to reach the heights of corporate, government, academic, medical or entrepreneurial successes, yet most have remained humble, caring and helpful to their fellow men and women. Although I graduated from the University 40 years ago, I continue to feel like a part of the University community. My visits to Iloilo with my family and friends were never complete without a visit to the University – to connect with my former and later fellow professors, my students, sisters in the MU SIGMA PHI Sorority, brothers in the SIGMA CHI Fraternity and the Augustinian community. Among the many quotable quotes from our brilliant patron saint, St. Augustine, one has become a guide and an inspiration for me – “what you are, is a gift from God; what you will be, is your gift to God”. May we all continue to live our lives, with a goal of becoming worthy gifts to God. Together with all our sisters and brothers all over the world, I wish everyone a great, safe and wonderful 45th Anniversary Celebration. Mabuhay ang Sorority kag Fraternity! Madamu gid nga salamat.