FOUR University of the Philippines alumni were honored at a recent virtual ceremony hosted by the UP Alumni Association of Greater Los Angeles (UPAAGLA).
Mario C. Ignacio, retired chief accounting employee of the L.A. Department of Water & Power; Marlon Saria, nurse specialist & nurse scientist; Elsa Matteo Gillham, past Rotary Club District Governor; and Nenita Pambid Domingo, UCLA Philippine Studies lecturer were awarded Lifetime Distinguished Achievement Alumnus, Most Distinguished Alumnus, Leadership Recognition, and Service Recognition respectively during “Explore. Empower. Excel,” the first and recently concluded Alumni Awards Night livestreamed on March 27.
All four awardees attributed a great part of their achievement and success from the world-class education they got from U.P.
For Elsa Gilham, it was in living in campus dormitories, joining out-of-campus rallies, and tackling community and world issues that got her to a life of leadership. Gillham was instrumental in the forming of the Rotary Club of Historic Filipinotown.
Honor, integrity, and excellence inculcated in him during his time at U.P. led Mario L. Ignacio to be the first Asian and first Filipino American to hold the top financial post of the largest municipal utility in the United States.
Marlon Saria, 43, said his U.P. education prepared him to use his voice, to be an advocate, to be a leader, and to be of service to others.
More than Philippine Studies, everything else that Nenita Pambid Domingo has learned from U.P. – love of country, perseverance, resilience — is what she has been imparting to her students here in the U.S.
The hour-long Alumni Awards Night aimed at inspiring and increasing the profile of U.P. alumni in the community featured Philippine Vice President Leni Robredo and U.P. President Danilo Concepcion as guest speakers, and Ryan Cayabyab & The Ryan Cayabyab Singers, and Robert Shroder as guest performers.
Net proceeds from funds raised will be donated to the Kaagapay sa Pag-Aaral ng Mga Iskolar ng Bayan Program of U.P. Other awardees include outgoing UPAAGLA Treasurer Virgilio Guinto and UPAAGLA Past President Alma Onrubia (deceased) both recipients of the First UPAAGLA Presidential Award.
The Alumni Awards Night was made possible with the support of Paralon, Sonia Delen, Sklar Kirsh LLC, Philippine Airlines, and other generous donors.
To watch the UPAAGLA Alumni Awards Night, please visit www.upaagla.org/awards. For more information and to join UPAAGLA, please visit www.upaagla.org/join.
