You would say this is a staple in Philippine television. A girl of about 16 years would approach her father to say that she wanted to go to college. The father would tell her that she would not. They were living in a far-flung barangay. Their coconut trees were still too young to bear fruits for harvesting. Her other siblings were schooling too. Money was scarce.
When the exact thing happened to Elsie Laguador, she responded to her beloved father with a hint of the humor that would endear her to the School of Management (SMN).
“Magpapa-ampon ako sa mayaman!”
Elsie, second of six girls, did not set herself up for adoption as she said. No one in their one-road barangay with a forest for a picket fence was rich enough to adopt her anyway. However, she did not graduate in high school with all her accomplishments only to be told no either. She applied instead to all the scholarships she heard about. Five, on her count.
“The school’s division superintendent advised me to apply for the Study Now, Pay Later Plan (SNPLP) in case I pass none of those applications,” Elsie laughed. She followed the advice and got accepted, but it was the scholarship from COCOFED (Philippine Coconut Producers Federation, Inc.) that saw her through her four years of Commerce in Adamson University. She even saved money while studying. She would get a 50% tuition fee refund as a dean’s lister.
It mattered that she would have alternative means to support her studies. She remembered her father telling them, when her other sister also began studying in Manila: “Igagapang hanggang kaya. Kapag hindi na, babalik dito.” “Dito” referring to Brgy. San Buenaventura in the town of Luisiana, Laguna, where the weather is cold and pandan trees are aplenty.
Elsie made sure that she would not see it happen. She finished college and got hired by Philippine Airlines (PAL).
“Are you crazy?”
She worked at PAL from 1982 to 1989. It was fun, she recalled. The company provided all her material needs. She and her colleagues could book a flight and go to Hong Kong or Thailand for free. At the end of the day, however, she felt empty.
“Maybe you lack spirituality,” her friend, who later became a nun, told her. At that time, the only spirituality Elsie knew was that of the contemplative nuns. Without hesitation, she knocked at the door of a convent and inquired. It was a bold move for one who grew up in an Aglipayan household.
“I’m one of those people who, when I want something, will find a way to get it,” the current program officer of SMN said.
When her soul-searching bore fruit, it became more apparent that her work in the airlines was not the one for her.
“I could not say that I was really happy, so I resigned.”
Her boss was surprised. “Are you crazy? Many people are trying hard to get into PAL, and you who are already here want to leave for nothing? No. You leave when you already have saved a lot and bought your own house.”
Elsie was not crazy, but this UA&P Dragon that we have come to know is stubborn. She cleaned her desk and left.
A tempting offer
She took another job. The company folded up after a few months. That brought her to UA&P, then Center for Research and Communication (CRC). When her friends and co-workers Dr. Annie Mendoza and Dr. Avic Caparas left to pursue their doctoral studies, Elsie stayed for a while. People asked her to study, but she said no. She had no plans to stay, even if she had a CRC Outstanding Employee of the Year to boot.
True enough, she did resign after a couple of years to pursue other endeavors, which did not materialize. When UA&P was planning to build the APEC Communications Building (ACB), the head of its fund raising, Dr. Corito Bautista, asked Elsie to work with her. Elsie returned to help raise funds.
She was eventually absorbed by SMN when ACB was finished. She organized seminars and events for the school. She enjoyed dealing with various clients and later on enrolled in the Applied Business Economics Program (ABEP) of the School of Economics.
After she graduated, a company sent her a tempting offer: a new car after six months and a much higher salary. However, she knew by then it was not the material things that would make her happy, but the service that she would be able to extend to others. She decided to stay.
Unstoppable
“When I got settled here, that’s when I saw that I can be an instrument to the progress or failure of the institution,” she said.
She implemented administrative systems in the MScM program. It was challenging at times, especially when she had to correct something that is not in accord with what UA&P is trying to impart.
Her kneecaps, too, carried the burden of her non-stop activities. They would scream from all the legwork, whether in pushing for the application of the BS Accountancy program or arranging activities for the students.
If there is another area where she is happy to be unstoppable, that would be reviving the hope of the students who have either flunked their subjects or received a letter of academic dismissal.
“Every time I see the progress of the students—lalo na ‘yung mga pasaway na halos ma-kick out—I feel fulfilled. Wala akong money. Wala akong house. Wala akong car. Pero masaya ako.”
Elsie believes that those who were picked in the Search for Dragons Inside did not work for the award. The recognition, however, affirms the good that they do through their ordinary work, no matter how small it is. “It motivates people to improve. There is no room to complain.”
* The Southeast Asian Science Foundation, Inc. (SEASFI) officially adopted CRC as an institutional project in 1969.
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