Three illustrious alumni of Silliman University are this year’s Outstanding Sillimanian awardees in a virtual ceremony on August 28 as one of the highlights of the 120th Founders Day of the beautiful campus by the sea in Dumaguete City.
They are Atty. Francisco Noel Fernandez III in international relations and diplomacy; Dr. Nella Fe Pineda-Marcon in disaster relief and climate justice advocacy; and Dr. Manuel Logroño in crop research and development, plant breeding, and genetics.
A member of SUHS 1985, Fernandez was nominated by the Dumaguete alumni chapter. He was corps commander of the Citizens Army Training, assemblyman of the Student Government, and member of the Christian Youth Fellowship, among others.
He earned his bachelor’s degree in Political Science and later a bachelor’s degree in Law at the University of the Philippines. He topped the Philippine Bar Exam in 1994 and aced the Foreign Service Examination conducted by the Department of Foreign Affairs.
When he was a diplomat in China, he was credited for helping draft many agreements that led to what is known as the Golden Age of Relations between the Philippines and People’s Republic of China. When he was assigned in London, he represented the country in the International Maritime Organization.
Nominated by the Laguna alumni chapter, Logroño finished B.S. Agriculture (magna cum laude) in 1979. He proceeded to earn his post graduate degrees from the University of the Philippines at Los Baños (MS Agronomy, Plant Breeding) and from the University of Hawaii at Manoa (PhD Agronomy and Soil Science, majoring in plant breeding and genetics).
Early on in his career, he set his eyes on the cultivation of maize. In fact, in his first academic assignment at UPLB, he was part of the team that focused on maize breeding and genetic development. This team was instrumental in developing corn varieties that were high yielding and disease resistant.
After completing his further studies in the US, he returned to the country and initiated major hybrid corn breeding programs that had high produce and yielded hybrids that were pest resistant. These were adopted by the Department of Agriculture in its efforts to increase corn production in the country.
Because of his pioneering efforts that capitalized on his knowledge and expertise, new varieties of corn have been developed, providing consumers with produce that have improved nutritional qualities. His expert use of science, technology, and innovation has helped the farmers improve their livelihood.
Nominated by the New York-New Jersey alumni chapter, Marcon is an alumna of Silliman University College of Nursing Class of 1981. She is also a medical doctor who earned her degree from Perpetual Help College of Medicine.
Aside from being a medical pratitioner in the United States of America, she is a staunch advocate of climate and environmental justice. Her advocacy focuses on social reforms that safeguard public health and the environment because she believes that there are factors from both that directly and indirectly cause major diseases. She explores other facets of life that affect climate change and the environment, and is also interested in the link between migration and climate change with social justice, and the connection between labor unions and environmental justice activism.
She was invited to testify before the New York State Committee, leading to the enactment of the Climate Leadership and Climate Protection Act in 2019, dubbed as the “most ambitious and comprehensive climate and clean air legislation in the US.”
She also coordinates medical missions, especially to areas affected by natural disasters, and provide psychosocial support to the victims. As a medical practitioner and environmental advocate, she reminds people that their well-being relates to how they care for the environment. – NWI
