#VSUGrad2025 | 72nd Commencement Address of James Lawler for Cluster 3
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- Written by James Lawler, Second Secretary at the Australian Embassy in the Philippines
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Published: 29 July 2025
Ladies and gentlemen, distinguished guests and fellow speakers,
My name is James Lawler, Second Secretary at the Australian Embassy in the Philippines, and I am speaking today on behalf of Her Excellency Ambassador HK Yu, who has asked me to convey her best wishes and congratulations to all graduating here today.
I have a few things I wish to talk about. But first of all, I offer my own sincere congratulations to all of you on your graduation as scholars from the Visayas State University.
To quote the Apostle Paul in his second letter to Timothy, “You have fought the good fight – you have finished the race – you have kept the faith”. And today, you truly have finished the race, and you will receive your well-deserved reward.
But, the St Paul quote doesn’t perfectly fit this occasion. You see, Paul wrote this when he was at the end of his life. He had run his final race. For you, on the other hand, who are nowhere near the end of your lives, today is simply the end of the beginning, as you still have many, many more races left to run.
That’s why, today, I want to make brief mention of three things. I want to speak about service. I want to speak about science. And I want to speak about, for you, what will come next.
First, service. When I was asked to give this commencement address, I asked myself, “What can I actually talk about?”. I have only been in the Philippines working in the Australian embassy for eight months.. What do I know that’s worthy of your time?
Well, what I can talk about is service to others. Because I am, ultimately, a public servant. I’ve been a public servant for eight years now. I serve the people of Australia, and currently also the people of the Philippines, as I work to build the relationship between our two countries for the benefit of both our countries. Previously I served my country in Cambodia, and back in Australia – so I know something about service.
What I firmly believe is that service matters. More than money, more than fame, more than power. To live a life of service to others is one of the highest dignities – and it gives meaning and purpose to our lives. By using your talents and your knowledge not just for yourselves, but for the benefit of your families, your communities and your country, you honour those who came before you, and become something bigger than just yourselves.
Through serving others, in big ways and small, we leave our mark upon the world, and upon the people around us. Long after we are gone, hopefully people will remember us, but what we did for them and how we touched their lives will live on. I truly believe, if you want to live forever – live for others.
So I call upon you to live a life of service, using the gift of your education, to dedicate yourselves to helping those around you. But, there are many ways to do this. And that’s why I want to talk about science.
I understand today, we have graduates of agricultural sciences, nursing, veterinary medicine, and forestry and environmental science. You are stewards of creation and of life itself, caring for the most vulnerable in our society, and enriching the human and created world around us.
Which means you probably know this next part better than me – science matters. With intellectual rigour, discipline and perseverance, you search for truth in an increasingly uncertain world.
It is both the scientific method and the spirit of scientific enquiry which have propelled humanity forward, from dwelling in caves to walking amongst the stars. As graduates of the sciences, you inherit the wisdom of countless generations before you, and in turn, your work going forward will serve as the foundation for future knowledge, discovery and progress to come. You are the latest in a long tradition of humanity’s finest minds.
And this is where these two ideas come together – science and service. You can use your deep subject-matter knowledge, intellectual rigour and wellspring of perseverance not merely for yourselves, but in service to the people of the Philippines, and of the world. In service to caring for our sick (human and non-human alike). In service to preserving and enhancing the beauty and the bounty of the natural world around us. With your degrees, you now have both a purpose, and the tools by which to pursue it.
And let me give you an example, of which I am familiar, of Philippine science in the pursuit of service to others. At the moment, the Australian Embassy is supporting the development of a Philippine National Forensic Institute, and the training of the next generation of Philippine forensic pathologists. By helping determine the cause and means of death and injury, these experts will help deliver justice to the victims of violent crimes, as well as victims of accidents and natural disasters, and deliver solace to their friends and families. It is clearly a project I’m passionate about.
But I raise this topic not to promote the Australian Embassy. Instead, I want to talk about the incredible Filipinos with whom we’re working. I speak specifically of two Filipino scientists – Dr Raquel Fortun and Dr Cecilia Lim. They are the only accredited forensic pathologists in the Philippines. For decades, they have worked tirelessly to deliver justice and closure for the dead, including for victims of extrajudicial killings, when this has been a difficult and thankless task.
Drs Fortun and Lim exemplify what it means to pursue a life of service to others through scientific discipline – not in some other place, but right here, in the Philippines. So, I urge you to use them as inspiration, as a model of how to be as graduates of Visayas State University. Harnessing your skills to bring benefit not merely to yourselves, but to those around you, however that may be. We all need inspiration – let Dr Fortun and Dr Lim be yours.
And so, finally, I turn to my last point – the race ahead.
Because, as I said earlier, you are far from finished. Ahead of you are many, many more races. The race of finding a post-graduation job. Of developing a career. The race of juggling work, and family, and hobbies, and life, and striding through this frenzied and chaotic world with grace, calmness, and a sense of true purpose.
And there will be times when the race is hard. There will be times when the ground unexpectedly shifts beneath you. There will be times where it may seem too much. There will be times where you stumble, and fall. Perhaps some of you have experienced these times already.
But, and I mean this sincerely, you will finish the race. By being here today, you’ve demonstrated that you have the intelligence, perseverance and drive needed for all your roads ahead. You have overcome, personally and with the help of family, teachers and friends, all the challenges in your life to make it to this point. And I know you will continue to do so. Make St Paul, this university, and all who have supported you, proud.
So, congratulations on graduating – congratulations on running the race. Now good luck with the next one.
Thank you.