๐๐ ๐๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ด ๐๐ฅ๐ฎ๐ช๐ฏ๐ช๐ด๐ต๐ณ๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ - ๐๐ข๐ต๐ค๐ฉ 1989
We
are honored to feature Miss Elma P. Arboleras, who completed her degree in BS Customs Administration and was named Most Outstanding Graduate of the Class of 1989, embodying the enduring values and quiet strength of a true Lacsonian.
Miss Elma recalls that choosing John B. Molo was not a calculated decision, but a deeply felt one. Accompanied by her grandmother and still uncertain about where to study, she stepped onto the campus of what was then Iloilo Maritime Academy and immediately felt at home. The sense of community, the openness of the campus, and the warmth of both students and faculty gave her a feeling she trusted. Looking back decades later, she affirms that it was one of the best decisions she ever made.
Her student life at John B. Molo was both challenging and fulfilling. It was a time of growth that went far beyond academics. The discipline of her studies was balanced by meaningful involvement in campus life, shaping her into a resilient, adaptable, and principled individual. She found purpose in service through the Philippine National Red Cross, pride and lifelong friendships as a pioneer member of the Handumanan Cultural Group, and focus and creativity in the school publication. These experiences not only sustained her education through scholarships, but also helped form the person and professional she would become.
Among the Lacsonian core values, integrity became her strongest guide. Throughout her career, she encountered moments when compromising principles would have been easier. Each time, she chose the ethical path. This commitment earned her trust, credibility, and a reputation built not on convenience, but on character.
Like many graduates, leaving the campus brought uncertainty. Stepping into the professional world felt daunting, yet the confidence and preparation she gained at John B. Molo allowed her to move forward with purpose. Her career journey has spanned various industries, eventually bringing her back to the maritime sector, where she continues to make a meaningful impact.
Her achievements speak volumes. She was recognized as one of the Ten Outstanding Students of the Philippines (TOSP), becoming the first from JBLFMU-Molo, Inc. and the first from Iloilo City to receive the honor. She has earned national and international awards for innovation, secured patents and trademarks for her invented bus management system, iBus, which was later featured in the World Intellectual Property Organization magazine, and has been instrumental in facilitating the largest single project in the 115-year history of a leading European maritime company. Yet, she considers her greatest accomplishment to be remaining principled through every challenge.
To the current generation of Lacsonian students, Miss Elma leaves this message. โ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ช๐ด๐ฉ ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ๐บ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต ๐ฐ๐ง ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฎ๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ข๐ต ๐๐ฐ๐ฉ๐ฏ ๐. ๐ ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฆ๐ฒ๐ถ๐ช๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ซ๐ถ๐ด๐ต ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐ฌ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ฅ๐จ๐ฆ, ๐ฃ๐ถ๐ต ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐ข๐ฏ ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ถ๐ณ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ข๐ด๐ด ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ท๐ข๐ญ๐ถ๐ฆ๐ด.โ She encourages students to โ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฃ๐ณ๐ข๐ค๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฅ๐ช๐ด๐ค๐ช๐ฑ๐ญ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฆ, ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐จ๐ข๐จ๐ฆ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ช๐ต๐บ, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ช๐ฏ๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฏ๐ข๐ญ๐ช๐ป๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ท๐ข๐ญ๐ถ๐ฆ๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ง๐ช๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ข ๐ต๐ณ๐ถ๐ฆ ๐๐ข๐ค๐ด๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ช๐ข๐ฏ. As they prepare to chart their own paths, she reminds them that โ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ฆ๐ข๐ด ๐ธ๐ช๐ญ๐ญ ๐ด๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ต๐ช๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ด ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ถ๐จ๐ฉ,โ but to trust in the solid foundation they are building. With faith, courage, and excellence as guides, she adds,
โ๐๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐๐ฐ๐ฅ ๐ข๐ด ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ค๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐๐ข๐ค๐ด๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ช๐ข๐ฏ ๐ด๐ฑ๐ช๐ณ๐ช๐ต ๐ข๐ด ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ด๐ข๐ช๐ญ, ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ธ๐ช๐ญ๐ญ ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ญ๐บ ๐ด๐ถ๐ค๐ค๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฅโ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ธ๐ช๐ญ๐ญ ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฅ ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ณ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ด๐ฆ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ณ. ๐๐ข๐ฌ๐ฆ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐๐ญ๐ฎ๐ข ๐๐ข๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฅ.โ
