NEWSLETTER

NEWSLETTER

Several years ago, our longtime secretary Evelyn J. Masaoy approached me and asked if I would consider being the President of USTEAA. I was really taken by surprise and honored that a new member would be offered to run an organization of dedicated professionals. I respectfully declined, but offered to be an active member, and help the association in other capacities. After her relentless pursuit, I finally caved in to her request.

This association has “marinated” me for 8 years. Soon the members will have a taste of what Ray Zipagan will be serving. The seasoning and flavoring will be provided by our new Vice President Joey Lozada and all the other officers. I will be the association’s President and I will not let USTEAA down.

Similarly, outgoing President Les Mariano was a leader who did not let the association down. As his Vice President, I have worked with Les on several important projects such as the Web Site improvement, scholarship program, internship program, membership expansion drive, fund raising events, and establishment of future goals. Under his leadership, we have produced several successful projects. Challenges of more difficult projects neither fazed him nor deterred his drive to find other avenues. He has been relentless as he continuously strives to expand the capabilities of this organization. I truly believe that a person’s given name reflects his performance as a leader. Some of you may not know but, Les’ full name is Achilles. Likewise, I owe it to this association to live up to my name, particularly my last name “Zipagan” which, in English, means “hardworking”. I will be working hard and with pleasure to bring together and to coordinate the cooperative efforts of all the officers and members, as together we forge ahead to make our association achieve its goals.

I would like to close my speech by recalling a simple mathematical principle we learned many years ago at UST and applying this concept to make our organization more effective.

That equation is Einstein’s E=mC2. Let me prove to you why this will work.

We learned from our professors that we can define these variables at will. So let us

then make these definitions:

E— is for Effort

m---is for Management, a constant because of the fixed number of officers overseeing

the operation

C----is for Cooperation, the most influential variable which involves every member of this organization. The nice thing about this equation is because the C is a squared term. It only requires a small amount of cooperation and the effort will produce a substantial effect.

As I look at this huge and enthusiastic group of alumni and friends, I really can feel and see that you have already applied Einstein’s equation tonight. Let us maintain the momentum and keep E=mC2 working all the time.

Thank you.