[ad_1]
The prestigious Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, has produced Filipinos who have made an impact in the fields of law, the arts, science, business, and politics.
Among them was the late National Scientist and renowned pediatrician Fe Del Mundo, who led the way by being the first woman and the first Asian to be accepted for postgraduate training at Harvard Medical School.
Filipino-American Kiwi Alejandro Camara at age 19 had the distinction of being the youngest graduate of Harvard Law School in 2004, with magna cum laude honors.
Born in the Philippines, Camara comes from a family of medical professionals in Iba, Zambales. Today, Camara is the CEO of Disco, a service solutions provider for law firms and other legal offices, according to her LinkedIn account.
In 2004 Edilwasif Baddiri, a full-blooded Tausug, entered Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government as a Fulbright scholar.
After obtaining his degrees in political science and law in Manila, he returned to Zamboanga City and taught the Philippine Constitution at his former high school at the Zamboanga Athenaeum and also worked as a paralegal in the regional trial court. He is the presiding judge of Section 96 of the Catanauan Regional Court of First Instance in Quezon Province, as well as the acting presiding judge of Section 142 of the Makati City Regional Court of First Instance, according to the website of the Supreme Court.
Other Tausug who also earned their master’s in public administration from Harvard include Amina Rasul (1999) and Madge Kho (1991).
Also a graduate of the Kennedy School of Government Clare Amador, who was the first Filipino woman to deliver the commencement address before her class, in 2018. Prior to Harvard, Amador served as Undersecretary of the Department of Budget and Administration and was the Chief of Staff of the former Budget Secretary Florencio Abad.
Former Inquirer columnist Oscar Tan also spoke on behalf of some 700 Harvard Law School graduates in 2007. A law degree from the University of the Philippines, he earned a master’s degree from Harvard.
Two years earlier, Adel Tamano was also on the same stage when he served as a graduation speaker at Harvard Law. Tamano has been Vice President of Udenna Corporation, led by Dennis Uy since 2017.
Legal luminaires
Other Philippine legal luminaries who attended Harvard are former Senators Jovito Salonga and Rene Saguisag, Senator Sonny Angara, former Press Secretary Ricardo Puno, former Attorney General Estelito Mendoza, former Secretary of the Environment Fulgencio Factoran, former Dean of Law of the Ateneo César Villanueva, Comelec Commissioner Rowena Guanzón, former Inquirer editor and former UP Law Dean Raúl Pangalangan, and his wife, UP Law professor Elizabeth Aguiling-Pangalangan.
Among the artists who studied at Harvard were the National Artist Juan Nakpil, who received a master’s degree in architecture from Harvard in 1926, and the art historian Dr. Rodolfo Paras Pérez.
While most of these Filipinos entered Harvard for graduate studies, Ayala Corp. President and CEO Jaime Zobel de Ayala also received his undergraduate studies at Harvard. He graduated with honors from Harvard College with a BA in economics and later an MBA from Harvard Business School.
In 2007, Zobel de Ayala became the first and youngest Filipino student to receive the Harvard Business School Alumni Achievement Award, which is given to “distinguished graduates who have contributed significantly to their companies and communities by maintaining the highest standards and values. .
Sources: Inquirer Archives, harvard.edu
[ad_2]
