Words of Gratitude...

Bismillah-ir Rahman-ir Rahiim...(In the Name of God, The Beneficient, The Merciful). Alhamdullillah-ir Rabiil Aalamiin...(Praise be to God)!

Assalamo Alaikom...(Greetings of Peace to everyone)!

To the sponsors of the IBM eMentor Scholarship Program: IBM Philippines, EduQuest, Inc., USAID-GEM; to Mm Teresita "Tata" Medado, Mm Happy Raagas, Mm Maej Villanueva;

To the MSU Officials: the Action Man and President of the Mindanao State University, Dr. Ricardo F. De Leon, Vice President for Administration and Finance, Colonel Romeo Magsalos, Vice President for Academic Affairs, Dr. Nasroden B. Guro, Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, Dr. Macabangkit P. Ati, our very own Assistant Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs External Studies, Dr. Malawi A. Panambulan, my ever supportive principal, Prof. Manis M. Didatar with our Assistant Principal, Prof. Lawan M. Lawi, to my students and co-teachers;

To Sir Abet Datu-dacula;

To our Mentors: Sir Garsh and Sir Meoh;

To my family, my children and most especially to my ever loving and understanding husband, Raquib A. Manalundong, for his moral support and encouragement;

To all IBM eMentor Scholars especially the MSU Group: Ms. No-rain, Ms. Sal, Ms. Yam, Ms. Venus, Ms. Barbs, Sir Arnold and Sir Acsie; and above all

To Almighty ALLAH, Most Gracious, most Merciful;

To all the people behind my success as an IBM eMentor Scholar;

My sincerest gratitude to all!

Being one of the IBM eMentor Scholars, great changes, opportunities and blessings in my life as a teachers have come my way. But...the journey of an IBM eMentor Scholar is not easy. From the selection process to the rigid training...up to the implementation that we have gone through, the joy and laughter; sadness and tears, feelings of nervousness and sometimes "mental block"...even sleepness nights with my co-IBM eMentor Scholars (MSU Group)...but all of these experiences are repaid by our students who have been the intrument of reaching and achieving our goals and objectives as an IBM eMentor Scholar. The wandered eyes and the puzzled face of every student in our class especially during their first view of learning using the power of technology, every smile of a student that cracked into their lips...serves as an inspiration to us to continue our struggle in teaching and learning process of our students. Their only wish is that...every subject or even even every class discussion be done through the computer technolgy.

Soar high eMentors! Spread the knowledge and skills we've got from this program especially from Sir Meoh and Sir Garsh. For they have empowered us with the best tools and skills to fully exploit technology as an instructional tool. Let's open our classrooms to a world of new discovery and learning. Our time has come to make technology based teaching and learning a meaningful experience for every student of ours. Good Luck for a new beginning!

Thank you and Congratulations to all!

Maryam Q. Manalundong
IBM eMentor Scholarship