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LINK: ‘Note Verbale‘, Manila Times (Sunday-Career Section) - 24 June 2007 Issue

Valdas Adamkus proved to himself and to the world that there is nothing a person cannot do, said author and life coach, Dr. Cherie Carter-Scott.

Adamkus emigrated to the United States in 1949 at the age of 23 after joining the underground movement against the Soviets in his teens and escaping to Germany in the process. In an interview he related this experience in this wise: “I survived and even managed to get on a ship that was to take me to America. All I had with me was a small backpack which contained a change of underwear and a book — and five dollars in my pocket. I earned my passage doing odd jobs on board the ship, and as I was leaving the ship upon arrival in the States, the captain said that he thought I “would make it real big” in life… It was very encouraging to hear him say it, the first such encouragement in several years of moving from place to place. . . ”

While in Chicago, he worked as a draftsman and in a car factory. Out of sheer determination, Adamkus finished his degree in civil engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology at the age of 34.

As an engineering student, he was a part of the signature campaign to petition the US government to intervene in the deportations of Lithuanians to Siberia by the Soviets. He also raised strong concerns about Soviet activities of his occupied country with then UN Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld and former US President John F. Kennedy.

Adamkus later worked for the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). He was responsible for the pollution control programs in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin. He also implemented a massive environmental cleanup strategy for the Great Lakes. For his work, former US President Ronald Reagan conferred on him the Distinguished Executive Presidential Rank Award, the highest honor that can be bestowed upon a civil servant.

After Lithuania declared independence on March 11, 1990, Valdas entertained the idea of going back to his native land to help her in the same passion that he did for America. And so in 1998, at 71 years old, Valdas ran and became the President of Lithuania. After successfully winning a court battle on his eligibility to become head of his nation, Valdas immediately renounced his US citizenship at the American Embassy in Vilnius.

Adamkus served as President until 2003 when he ran for re-election but was unexpectedly defeated by populist Rolandas Paksas. The latter however was impeached and removed from office. And Adamkus seized the occasion to run again for the presidency, a post which he held until today at the age of 81.

According to Dr. Scott, when Valdas was asked about his inner process that led him to aspire for the demanding office of the presidency at a time when he was supposed to be retiring, he replied, “There are no limits in life.”

Adamkus enjoys a very high approval rating among the Lithuanians. Since 1998, he has been honored with more than two dozen decorations and recognition by different countries in Europe including Japan. He was also conferred at least sixteen honorary doctoral degrees by various universities in Lithuania, the United States, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Ukraine.

Adamkus described the ecological state of the Lithuanian soul in this manner, “Ecology is a very wide concept indeed. Ecology is cleansing. In the foundation of the Lithuanian mentality there has always been the most essential, age-old and time-tested values — love and respect for the native land, for its history, for the people of our land.”

He views globalization as a process that no country can avoid being affected by, to a greater or smaller extent. He said that, “The worst effects of total globalization can be prevented if the people of a nation have the national identity and awareness inculcated in them from childhood. We do our best to build the whole system of education and national upbringing with this in mind.”

The personal life of Adamkus should be a constant reminder to all overseas Filipinos that no matter where they are now they should not forget that they have only one country to truly love and work for, the Philippines.