by Rex Godinez Ortega
Capping the 50th charter anniversary celebrations of MSU-IIT is a beautiful tribute by high school alumni who held a soiree for their former teachers at the Lai-Lai Garden in Pala-o on July 16, 2018.
The Integrated Developmental School Class of 1993, Inc. or IDS’93 treated their IDS teachers (mostly retired) to a sumptuous dinner and lavished praise and honor on them. The group also serenaded their high school teachers with known hits from the 70s, 80s, and the early 90s.
“This is our way of showing gratitude and respect to those who made a big difference in our lives,” said IDS’93 President Ritchie Rubio.
Rubio said that holding the activity was made more challenging by the fact that “many of our teachers had already retired, and we had to look for their addresses and visit them one by one.”
Former IDS teacher Nieves Tuante who attended the tribute thanked her former students profusely in a Facebook post she published a day after.
“Our hearts are overwhelmed with joy and happiness,” she said.
The soiree also doubled as a dinner-for-a-cause event with the proceeds going in support of projects being undertaken by IDS’93.
Currently, IDS’93 is implementing a tree-growing program.
IDS’93 conducted the tribute in partnership with the MSU-IIT High School Alumni Association (MHSAA).
The soiree is part of a series of activities being conducted by IDS’93 leading up to this December’s high school grand alumni homecoming, which they have the privilege of hosting.