In the year 2000-2001, when I first attended Torres High Class 1961 40th anniversary reunion ( it was called reunion of the millennium), I had the opportunity to sit down with then Dean Vivien M. Talisayon, and we discussed what help we can extend to the College of Education. At that time we had helped in the renovation of the MAURA DELOS REYES Audio visual room, in honor of our mother who was a schoolteacher in our hometown all her life. (Later we also dedicated another room for our oldest pamangkin AGNES MADAMBA who was a graduate of UPCOE and specialized in Special Education.)
Dean Talisayon and I came up with the idea of establishing the Teachers Awards to honor and recognize the outstanding work and dedication of the faculty of UPCOE.
Coincidentally before our 40th high school reunion/ I tried to locate my high school teachers, and those I found, I invited to our reunion dinner dance. That was the first time I saw these teachers after graduating from Torres High School in 1961. Our class was excited to see our former teachers.
As I reflect on my life, I would not have gone to high school after grade school in Caingin, San Rafael, Bulacan, if not due to some twist of fate, that the then principal, Cesario Bandong, admitted me, a provincial student, in a Manila City School (Torres High), which provided me four years of free high school education.
Getting admitted to Torres Hi was just the first step, I was so blessed to be under great and excellent teachers, who were proficient in their major subjects, who were devoted to their students, who were all kind to me, and who gave me all kinds of encouragement – you see, I was quite shy, having grown up in the province. Our teachers spent a lot of extra hours after school, to train us to compete in the Manila inter – high school math and science contests. The results were gratifying, we won several trophies and medals in those contests for dear Torres High.
Their hard work and dedication paid off in 1961 when our class produced four science scholars of the Science Foundation of the Philippines (NSDB). Two of us, (including myself), were in the top 20 students nationwide. The scholarship afforded me a free ride to finish BS Electrical Engineering at UP Diliman. Free tuition, free books with substantial monthly cash allowance.
After graduation, I was invited to teach at UP Engineering, and did it for 5 years; topped the Electrical Board Exams; worked for MERALCO for 4 years before doing graduate school in the US. After Graduate school, I established my career in electrical engineering in Ohio, USA, until retirement.
As you can see the College of Education Excellence in Teaching Awards is to mainly say thank you to my many teachers and mentors who have touched my life in a very special way – MacArthur would have not been MacArthur today if not for the inspiration and mentoring they unselfishly provided me.They are part of God’s blessings to me, my family, and my loved ones. I realized, when I started teaching at the UP College of Engineering, how a teacher in many little ways, can be instrumental in the life and success of their students. The story of these awards is not only the story of my teachers, it is also the story of my life.
Mac Arthur Delos Reyes
Torres High, Class ’61
UP Eng. Class ’66
