Isang Filipina na lumaki sa hirap dito sa Pilipinas ang nahirang na pangulo ng UTAH VALLEY UNIVERSITY sa United States kamakailan lamang.
Ipinahayag ng UVU sa website nito na si ASTRID TUMINEZ ay napili na pamunuan ang publicly funded university simula ngayong taglagas na magsisimula sa September sa US. Si Tuminez ay pangpito at kauna-unahang babaeng naging pangulo ng nasabing university.
Ayon pa sa UVU Board of Regents, pinatunayan ni Tuminez ang kanyang kakayahan sa larangan ng academic, non-profit, public policy and corporate sectors.
Sa kasalukuyan, si Tuminez ay empleyado pa ng Microsoft at may degree mula sa Harvard University at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Magsisimula ang kanyang trabaho bilang president ng Utah Valley University sa darating na panahon ng taglagas sa Amerika.
Pero…bago ang lahat ng ito…sa kanyang acceptance speech, sinabi ni Tuminez na:
” Wala na ang aking ama. Ang nanay ko ay 84 na. Kapwa sila hindi nakaabot ng kolehiyo. Sobrang hirap ng buhay ng nanay ko. Inaruga ako ng aking nakakatandang kapatid na babae. 15 lang ang edad niya at kailangan niyang arugain ang anim niyang kapatid.”
Limang taon si Tuminez noon nang magsimulang magbago ang takbo ng kanyang buhay.
“Namulat kami sa buhay-estero sa Pilipinas. Limang taon ako noon nang papag-aralin kami ng mga madre. Doon nagsimula ang guhit ng kapalaran ng aking buhay”, sabi pa ni Tuminez.
Nakatapos siya ng high school sa Union High School-Manila. Nakapunta siya sa United States noong 1982 at kalaunan ay naging American citizen.
Si Tuminez ay holder din ng Master’s degree for Soviet Studies mula sa Harvard at PhD for Political Science and Government mula sa MIT.
Sa ngayon, siya ay regional director for corporate, external and legal affairs ng Microsoft Southeast Asia at adjunct professor ng National University of Singapore, Lee Kuwan Yew School of Public Policy.
Nakakuha si Tuminez ng unanimous vote ng 24-member selection committee ng UVU. Papalitan niya si Matthew Holland na nanungkulang president simula pa noong 2009.
Ipinahayag din ni David L. Buhier, Utah Commissioner of Higher Education na sa lahat ng mga matitinding applicants, umangat sa pinakamataas na anta sang kanyang pangalan, dahilan upang siya ay mapili na magiging sunod na pangulo ng UVU. “She articulated a clear and compelling vision for UVU, and she understands the value of collaboration within Utah’s system of public colleges and universities” dagdag pa ni Buhier.
Narito ang part ng kanyang acceptance speech hango sa Wikipedia.org. :
“A pivotal event changed the arc of my life when I was five years old. Nuns from a Catholic order called the Daughters of Charity began talking with my mother and older sisters one day. The Daughters of Charity ran one of the best convent schools in Iloilo City <en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iloilo_City>: the Colegio del Sagrado Corazon de Jesus <en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colegio_del_Sagrado_Corazon_de_Jesus>. They had just established a free department for underprivileged children – and they asked my sisters and me to attend. They closed the free department a few years later, but five of us kept going and they didn’t charge us anything. What did that education mean for me? From being an illiterate child, ignorant, malnourished and insecure, I became someone who learned to read, discovered numbers and devoured everything.”[1] <en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astrid_S._Tuminez#cite_note-newsdeeply.com1-1>
“I was illiterate on the first day of school. In my school, the smartest child was put in the first seat, first row. The dumbest child was in the last seat, last row, and I was actually in the last seat, last row. But after a few months, I’m happy to report that I ended up sitting right in front – and I’m here where I am now all because of my access to education.” [2] <en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astrid_S._Tuminez#cite_note-microsoft.com-2>
“Speaking personally, education really is the great equalizer. If you grow up underprivileged, education offers you the chance to discover an entire world. You might live in a village or under a bridge in Manila and know nothing about anything, but education can set your mind free. Any time you open up a mind, you’re opening up possibilities.”[1] <en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astrid_S._Tuminez#cite_note-newsdeeply.com1-1>
photos from: uvumarketing.photoshelter.com
Source: gulfnews.com/news/asia/philippines/look-filipina-raised-in-slums-is-new-president-of-american-university
