Diamond Jubilee, Lifelong Calling: Celebrating Five Years of Service and Stewardship at Holy Cross

Reflecting on five years at Holy Cross of Davao College (HCDC) feels less like marking a professional milestone and more like celebrating a calling fully realized. When the institution reopened its doors in 2021 amidst a world still finding its footing, I was among the newly hired employees stepping into the Social Action Office under the Center for Integral Evangelization (CIE), a community where minds, hearts, and hands truly go together. Walking those first few steps into community engagement, I knew deep down that this was the path I had always wanted to walk, one rooted intimately in the grassroots, the marginalized, and the less privileged communities who taught me far more than any textbook ever could.

HCDC didn’t just give me a job, it gave me the sacred permission and the empowerment to live out a purpose. To work in social action through the CIE is to bear witness to resilience, to listen to the quiet struggles of everyday people, and to build bridges where isolation once stood. Every community visit, every outreach, and every shared story over the last half-decade has only deepened my conviction that service is the truest expression of faith.

On this journey in community engagement, I have been blessed with another great privilege, entering the classroom to teach young minds in Research 1 and 2, as well as the Humanities and some general education subjects. Standing before these students offers a unique space to guide them through the rigorous pursuit of inquiry while reminding them of the deeper beauty in simply appreciating the world around them, teaching them to see, to question, and to value the art and humanity in everyday life.

As HCDC marks its 75th Diamond Jubilee under the theme 75 Years of Faith, Excellence, Service, and Cultural Stewardship, receiving a plaque of appreciation is a moment of profound humility. This recognition belongs just as much to the communities who welcomed us into their spaces, the students who inspire me every day, my colleagues at CIE and across the institution, and a school that continues to champion holistic human development. Five years of service, five years of learning, and a lifetime of gratitude for a home where faith and action truly meet, an institution that lives out its motto: Ex Fide Ad Veritatem—From Faith to Truth. (Jeralyn Babet Adegue Palero | SAO | HCDC)