12 minute read
Carmel V. Abao, PhD
Dr. Jun Cuenca
WRITTEN BY ANDREA MIKAELA LLANES
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OFTENTIMES, A professor stands on the shoulders of the educators that came before them. Such is the case with Dr. Manuel “Jun” Cuenca, a lecturer from the Psychology Department. Going into the academe was a choice he made because his own teachers had inspired him throughout elementary to college.
Roughly 20 years into the profession, Cuenca now paves the way for many others—be it in the educational setting or the medical field. Though his journey has not been without its fair share of challenges, he remains steadfast in his pursuit of embodying Ateneo’s core values in the ways that he knows.
BEING AND DOING MORE
At his core, Cuenca considers himself a true blue Atenean; he had finished at Ateneo High School and gained his undergraduate degree from the Loyola Schools. When he was offered the opportunity to teach at the college level a few years later, he was in the process of reviewing for the board examinations.
Cuenca shares that it was not a particularly difficult decision, even if it did mean he would spend much of his after-class hours studying in the Rizal Library. “Why Ateneo? Because I wanted to go back,” he says. “I wanted to give back.” The Psychology Department, he adds, had much to do with his personal formation, making it almost natural for him to return. He started off as one of the only lecturers of Physiological Psychology and has since expanded his educational endeavors, such as teaching neurology and physiology part-time at the Ateneo School of Medicine and Public Health.
Though Cuenca’s life in the academe is colorful as it is, his story is made all the more impressive when one remembers that he is first and foremost a medical practitioner. “Someone told me that my specialty—anesthesiology—is very incompatible with teaching because of the lifestyle of an anesthesiologist,” he muses.
Over the past two decades, it has been a delicate balance game of being on call 24/7 and making it to classes that can house up to 70 undergraduates. Cuenca chalks up his tenacity to the joy he derives from seeing himself reflected back at him when he looks out at his students.
“It brings me a lot of fulfillment, seeing that I was them many, many years ago, and hoping that they will also be where they want to be a few years later on,” he says.
WHAT WE OWE EACH OTHER
Not even a pandemic could deter Cuenca’s resolve for teaching. If anything, distance learning only affirmed his convictions of going beyond and doing more. “Akala ko dati (I used to think) I was already patient, but the pandemic taught me I could be more patient,” he says. “I thought I used to be present, but online learning taught me to be even more connected.”
Laughingly, he shares that his students can attest to his love for synchronous sessions. For him, these calls are avenues to show his students that he is capable of connecting with them if they’d allow it. To the best of his abilities, he tries to simulate the classroom experience while simultaneously increasing his capacity for consideration. However, Cuenca emphasizes that the most important lessons he has learned ties to extending cura personalis to oneself. He asserts, “We need to take care of each other, but first we need to take care of ourselves. To be of service to other people—you will only be able to do that if you are well [and] if you are in your best self.”
THE NEXT RIGHT THING
What, then, is expected of us the moment we are called to service post-graduation?
Though the answer may seem simple, Cuenca laments that it is often overlooked: Ateneo’s core curriculum of the humanities. For him, the high-level insights, capacity for self-reflection, and training for critical thinking encompass all courses. He believes that these lessons eventually become essential to any graduate’s mental framework, eventually contributing to the University’s propensity for producing the leaders of tomorrow.
“As Ateneans, we’re taught to take the lead [and] to make sure that things are being done in the right way. You don’t have to be in a position to do that,” Cuenca declares. “Especially now in the pandemic—you have a role in making sure that things will become better. Things can get better.”
The daunting task of building a better world is made easier by Cuenca’s final piece of advice: To take it one day at a time. “As long as you hold on to your dreams, as long as you want them badly enough—you can. You will,” he urges.
As Cuenca has proven throughout his own career, when all one has is enough light for the next step, then let it be the step that sees us through the dark.
Michael Coroza
WRITTEN BY DIANA PATRICIA RIVERA
“LAGI KO sinasabi na bago ako naging guro, isa akong manunulat—at kaya ako naging guro ay dahil isa akong manunulat (I always say that before I became a teacher, I was a writer—and that I became a teacher because I was a writer),” Michael Coroza—Palanca awardwinning writer and professor—prefaces.
UNANTICIPATED PURSUANCE
Dubbed as a poet from a very young age, Coroza was never a foreigner to poetry. His grandfather’s home on Sunday nights was often filled with articulations of a balagtasan on the radio, and a young boy’s attempts at mimicking such. Recitation evolved into memorization, school performances, and the writing of poetry in his adolescence.
Coroza soon explored journalism in high school and was then set to earn his bachelor’s degree in Philosophy to pursue law. However, his second year at University was marked by his spontaneous acceptance of an offer to apply to their official campus publication, where he was accepted.
Working with this publication allowed him to continue his craft and find chances to work in the midst of esteemed writers, ultimately solidifying his choice to pursue writing. His initial plans to pursue law were consequently derailed. Coroza found himself gripped by his craft, and once again enveloped by an environment impelling the unanticipated pursuit of his passion.
ROUTES BY CHOICE AND CHANCE
Opportunities led him to Linangan sa Imahen, Retorika, at Anyo (LIRA), a group of poets led by national artist Virgilio Almario who would play a pivotal role in his trajectory. It was also through LIRA that Coroza first set foot in the Loyola Schools in the year 1989—not as a teacher, but as a poet set to perform in front of Colayco Hall. a catalyst in his career, urging him to teach. He came to teach at a high school in Muntinlupa— described as the happiest years of his life— deeply invigorated by the chance to teach all he loved about Filipino how he wanted to.
It was not until the late 90’s that he again stepped into the Ateneo as a master’s student. Coroza’s fate remained interwoven with the Ateneo until he was offered a position as a part-time instructor, eventually becoming fulltime. Through his experiences in the Ateneo, he saw that the University valued members of its community and how it gives everyone a great space to pursue their endeavor. He states that he saw the reality of magis and cura personalis, valuing others, and the pursuit of excellence not just for oneself, but for others.
“Sa tingin ko natutupad ito sa Ateneo, at sa pagiging narito ko sa Ateneo, natutupad ko ito ( I think that these are carried out in Ateneo, and by being here in the Ateneo, I can carry these out).”
LIFESAVERS AND IMPRINTS
Now the head of the Filipino Department, Coroza is eager to share his passion and what he believes students can learn through reading, and about the complexities of life. In his 33 years as a teacher, his care for students is grounded in his will to listen to and understand them.
Coroza always references a poem to his classes stating, “Sa klase natin at sa ating pag-uugnayan, wala dapat maiwang pusong lulutang-lutang sa gitna ng karagatan, tayo lahat at dapat maging timbulan—lifesaver. [...] Tayo dapat ay maging timbulan na magliligtas sa bawat isa.” (In our class and in our interactions with one other, there mustn’t be a heart left drifting remotely in the middle of the ocean. [...] We must become lifesavers meant to rescue one another.) ang pakikipagkapwa mo at pagmamalasakit mo sa tao (The way you relate and care for others is always challenged).”
He emphasizes that the need to reach others in these volatile times indeed requires persistence—and so he carries on. “Hindi ako nagtuturo ng leksyon lang, na batay sa libro. Ang tinuturo ko sa inyo mismo ang buhay ko. Buhay ko ang wika at panitikan. (I don’t teach only lessons based on books. What I impart is my life. Language and literature are my life.)” Coroza says.
He marks his last day of teaching a class by imparting words of wisdom and hoping he has left an indelible mark similar to what they have left on him as a teacher: “Sikaping maging magaling na gradweyt ng Ateneo, maging magiting na Filipino, at higit sa lahat, maging mabuting tao. (Strive to become excellent graduates of the Ateneo, to become courageous Filipinos, and most of all, to become good people).”
Carmel V. Abao, PhD
WRITTEN BY ANDREA MIKAELA LLANES
“WHEN THE political situation is very exciting, it’s also an exciting time to teach politics,” Carmel Abao, PhD says in introduction, her eyes glinting with enthusiasm. As a member of the Political Science Department since 2008, the assistant professor has undoubtedly seen her fair share of thrilling times.
It seems that more awaits her as she assumes the position of Department Chair. With renewed vigor for the Department’s tried and true purpose, Abao hopes to cultivate a culture of empathy that will benefit civil society at large.
HUMBLE BEGINNINGS
Prior to teaching, Abao was active in social movement work. She shares that she was exposed primarily to issues surrounding labor, political organizing, and urban poverty. She busied herself organizing labor unions and even dabbling in electoral politics, eventually realizing that she wanted to slow down a bit. offered a full-time position. “And then I never left,” she muses. “Tuloy tuloy na siya (It’s been continuous since then.)”
When asked why she chose to stay, Abao’s answer is plain and simple: “I just discovered that I like teaching. Once I tried it, I thought, ‘Pwede pala ‘to.’ (I can do this.) Teaching has been very enriching.”
Abao also finds exhilaration from handling subjects so deeply entrenched in the world beyond Ateneo. By drilling into students’ minds the relevant theories of Political Science, she finds comfort in knowing that they might be able to handle the realities that await them post-graduation.
GOING ABOVE AND BEYOND
Outside her role as a lecturer, Abao is also notably the founding President of the Ateneo Loyola Schools Faculty Association (ALSFA), a committee on faculty welfare that focuses on benefits and salaries. Abao notes that it was an uphill battle to participate in the governance of Ateneo.
“[ALSFA] is a mechanism to aggregate faculty interest and make sense of what we really need,” she says. “And when faculty say, ‘We need something,’ we also have to think of whether it will be good for our students [and] our institutions.”
This particular compassion is what likely made Abao a prime choice for the Department Chair post. She calls her term a “tour of duty,” smilingly sharing that she feels as though it is really her time to serve the Political Science Department. “The department always has a role to fulfill vis-à-vis every government that is elected, which entails examining problems [and] forwarding proposals to those problems,” she elaborates.
pedagogy,” she asserts. “We [the Political Science faculty] always work with government and civil society, and that kind of work seeps into our teaching and research. Alam ng mga students na yung tinuturo namin, hindi lang dahil nagbasa kami—dahil nakasalamuha talaga kami (Students know that what we teach doesn’t merely come from reading–it comes from genuine socializing).”
AGAINST THE APOLITICAL
Abao’s ultimate vision for Political Science graduates is that they may someday be transformative, though she adds that they already seem to be halfway there.
She shares her awe at how much of her students responded to the pandemic and the elections. “A lot of them were at the forefront of student rights. It was so nice to be colleagues with my students in terms of demanding things from the University,” she says, noting that members of the graduating batch were largely proactive.
After the election results, she convened with the Political Science Department in hopes of holding an online session where students could openly speak their minds. Roughly 200 individuals logged on to the call, genuinely shocking Abao, who learned then and there the importance of safe spaces for unbiased conversation. She shares, “I was really amazed at the depth of their concern.”
With these qualities already instilled in Batch 2022, Abao has only one crucial wisdom to impart to all those who will be going down the hill: To never succumb to apathy.
“You have to care about what happens. It’s not just about you students—it’s all of us. A good life and a good society must go hand-inhand,” she asserts. “Care about how society is organized, not just about your own individual welfare. To say ‘I don’t care’ is the worst thing you can do at this point. At the end of the day, whatever happens to society also affects you.”
