Silliman’s best for 2016

Two of the many exciting 115th Silliman University founders day celebration activities this week are the honoring  of  the five  Outstanding Sillimanian Awardees for 2016, and the 10 top achievers among the Silliman College of Mass Communication graduates within the past 50 years.   ?

The OSAs are Dr. Susan May Ferrolino-Calumpang, who is being awarded for her contribution to  crop protection and chemical ecology;  Engr. Elizabeth Merto Engle for engineering: project management;  Engr. Katsutoshi Furukawa for civil engineering and  humanitarian service; Dr. Patricia Velez-Gaid for pediatrics, and Col. Jocelyn Pancrudo-Turla for medical service in the military.

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Understandably, my heart goes out to the mass communication specialists, some of whom are my personal friends.

The awardees are Nilo Paurom, Philippine Daily Inquirer city editor, for distinguished professional achievement in print journalism; Emmanuel Dejaresco, Negros Chronicle publisher-editor, for entrepreneurship in community journalism; Carla P. Gomez, Visayan Daily Star editor, for community journalism, and  Alex Rey V. Pal, People’s Television Network officer-in-charge, for public broadcasting.

Being awarded too are Ed Dames, DTC Promos Inc. chair and CEO, for advertising-events marketing; Maria Zenaida Sarabia-Panol, Middle Tennessee State U College of Media associate dean and professor, for academe (communication research and education); Marissa Dames, DTC Promos Inc. president and COO, for media entrepreneurship in advertising-public relations; Yolanda de Guzman, US embassy information specialist, for communication management; Andrea H. Trinidad Echavez, communication specialist, for advocacy communication, and Adolfo P. Beltran, Cornerstone U ABTS academic affairs director, for communication management.

The judges themselves are communicators who recognize the value of journalists’ impact  in their fields. The awards convenor is in fact the founder of Silliman’s College of Mass Communication, Dr. Crispin Maslog, who got the judges together: Dr. Flor Braid, Alice C. Villadolid, Betty McCann, Ramon Tuazon, and yours truly.

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It’s  difficult compressing the five OSAs’ achievements to fit into my column space. So let me just tick off the high points in the five OSAs careers, using information from the judges’ evaluation sheets.

Dr. Susan May Ferrolina-Calumpang obtained her BS in chemistry in 1970, cum laude, graduate  studies in UP Los Banos, and her PhD at Tokyo University of Agriculture. She is a consummate researcher and academic with close to 60 publications she’s written.

Dr. Calumpang has made significant contributions in the field of crop protection science in Southeast Asia. Her pioneering work on chemical ecology has shed light on measures of preventing insect pest population increase in corn, mango, banana, and vegetable crops. She is well-respected as an international and national expert on risk assessment of pesticide use in agriculture. At one point, she reviewed insecticide registration that led to the withdrawal and banning of some insecticides by the FPA (Fertilizer and Pesticide Authority) where she served gratis as evaluator/reviewer consultant.

Elizabeth Merto Engle finished the civil engineering degree. She moved to Alaska, becoming the first female engineer registered in the state. In 1978, she  started out as design manager in the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities. Over the years, she was appointed director of Design and Construction, the first and only woman to date to hold this position.  As director  of the department that runs on a $100M annual budget, she was responsible for projects from planning through construction and supervised over 300 staff members. In her 20 years of government service in the largest region in Alaska, she has completed projects from rural to international airports, multi-million highway projects, Fish Hatchery, Indoor Firing Squad, and detention facilities. Some of these projects stand out proudly as “benchmark projects,” symbols of excellence for the entire Alaska state.

After a 20-year career in public service, she retired, but she was recruited by the Alyeska Pipeline Service Co. where she served for eight years. The only woman on the team, Engr. Engle was given the lead position to complete a high profile project — the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System Bypass Project, which supplies 25 percent of the oil needs of the US.

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Katsutoshi Furukawa finished civil engineering with honors in 1981. In 1991, he initiated an International Labor Organization project with Silliman University College of Engineering – his way of giving back – where Sillimanians learn modern technologies in Japan through technical trainings by Japanese companies. He also made available opportunities to people coming from India, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Fiji Islands through possible employment and trainings that he conducted for free.

In 2011, Furukawa-san’s own people fell victim to a tsunami that leveled and wiped out entire towns and cities. He wasted no time and flew to Miyagi to distribute tatami mats to homeless victims as winter was fast approaching. He also asked the help of the Negros people to raise funds for the victims in Miyagi. In 2012 and 2013, Negros experienced a massive earthquake and the deadliest typhoon to have hit land, Haiyan (Yolanda). Furukawa raised funds in Japan and spearheaded the rebuilding (even doing the carpentry himself) of numerous classrooms in La Libertad, Guihulngan, Cadiz City, Bantayan Island in Cebu and providing construction materials to rebuild 200 homes in Sagay City, Negros Occidental.

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Dr. Patricia Velez-Gaid  finished the pre-med course at Silliman in 1971 and the regular medical course at the University of the Philippines. She practiced pediatrics in several hospitals including Philippine General Hospital, Philips Memorial Hospital, and Northern Mindanao Medical Center.

She found her niche in her advocacy for special children and early detection of cancer. She tirelessly pushed for the establishment of a special education program and its support system in Cagayan De Oro City which include regular dental/medical consultations, weekly feeding programs and therapy sessions.She made possible the creation of the chemotherapy unit of the Northern Mindanao Medical Center. It has become a satellite center for the early detection of cancer, specifically Retinoblastoma.

In 2015, the  UP College of Medicine bestowed on her the Centennial Recognition Award of the Department of Pediatrics. The year previous, the  Philippine Pediatric Society awarded her Outstanding Pediatrician in Community Pediatrics.

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Col. Jocelyn Pancrudo-Turla,  as medical doctor in the Armed Forces of the Philippines has averaged three  awards every year, receiving the same award five times in a row (Award of Military Civic Action Medal 2014,2009,1999,1995,1992,), and even as much as 11  times (Award of the Military Merit Medal 2015, 2014, 2010, 2009, 2007, 2005, 2004, 2003,1998,1996,1991).

Joy finished psychology in 1981, and after studying medicine, applied for pediatrics residency training program at the Armed Forces of the Philippines Medical Center. While on training, she was called to active duty as a captain of the AFP Regular Force. This brought her to various field assignments in the major Philippine army units and unified commands of the AFP. Her pursuit of excellence took her to the US for an executive course.

Col. Turla developed  linkages with public agencies and private institutions that greatly enhance capabilities to carry out the AFP’s mission. She  directed the Forward Medical Responders during calamities, as in the Super Typhoon Yolanda and Zamboanga Siege.  In 2000, she was awarded the Bronze Cross Medal for the act of heroism in the Payatas Trashslide.

Col. Turla’s work has taken her to war-torn places,  which contributed in recasting the AFP’s mission to “win the peace.” She has served not only the AFP personnel and their dependents, but even the community. Thus, her present position of Deputy Commander for Professional Services, the highest position a female doctor has ever reached in the AFP,  is one that she highly deserves.

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