Awardees of The Outstanding Thomasian Alumni “TOTAL” Awards 2024 recounted experiences from the University as driving force of success to be an outstanding alumni.

The University acknowledged 14 top-performing alumni on Sept. 28 at the Dr. Robert C. Sy Grand Ballroom in the Buenaventura Garcia Paredes, O.P. Building.

Asst. Prof. Joselito Zulueta, one of the Media and Entertainment award recipients, said that UST reaffirmed his accomplishments as a journalist ever since he became a notable journalism student at the University.

“I learned my journalism studies here in UST, naging Features Editor ako sa The Varsitarian and naging Editor-in-Chief ako sa The Flame. So, lahat ng training ko sa periodismo ay mula sa UST,” Zulueta recalled. “Since it [the award] came from the Royal and Pontifical University, it is a big honor to me.”

Zulueta was an arts and culture editor in the Philippine Daily Inquirer; he also bagged awards in the Catholic Mass Media Awards for Best News Coverage in 2015, the National Book Award in History in 2007, and the Carlos Palanca Literary Award for the Essay in 1996.

For construction magnate Alice Eduardo, the University influenced her life, dreams, and visions based on the Thomasian values.

“Quoting from Sr. Marissa Viri [Health Allied awardee who spoke on behalf of the awardees], UST never left us. During my stay here, we were embraced by the school. Now is the time to give back,” the Outstanding Thomasian Alumni for Accountancy, Business, and Management awardee Eduardo attested.

Alice Eduardo graduated from the College of Commerce and Business Administration in 1986 and owns Sta. Elena Construction and Development Corporation, which materials from the firm were used to build SM Malls and Luzon expressways.

Bachelor of Science in Biology and Doctor of Medicine alumnus Dr. Catherine Teh recalled that her education at the University was not pure science but science with embedded humanities.

“UST had a great influence. Because [what I studied] is not all about science but also the art of medicine by being humane – inculcating both science and humanities into our approach every day,” Teh said.

Dr. Catherine is TOTAL Awards’ 2024 Outstanding Thomasian Alumni for Medicine, head of the Hepatobiliary Pancreatic and Liver Transplant Surgery of the Makati Medical Center, co-founder and president of the Telemedicine Network of the Philippines, and a recipient of the Filipina Women Network’s Most Influential Filipina in the World as Thought Leader awardee in San Francisco, USA in 2017.

Here are the recipients of the awards:

• Outstanding Thomasian Alumni for Accountancy, Business, and Management Alumni: Alice Eduardo
• Outstanding Thomasian Alumni for Health Allied: Sr. Maria Marissa Viri
• Outstanding Thomasian Alumni for Law and Judiciary: Assoc. Justice Amy Lazaro-Javier
• Outstanding Thomasian Alumni for Media and Entertainment: Nestor Cuartero and Asst. Prof. Joselito Zulueta
• Outstanding Thomasian Alumni for Medicine: Dr. Catherine Teh
• Outstanding Thomasian Alumni for Music, Arts, Literature, and Design: Edgar Doctor and Jose Pedro Recio
• Outstanding Thomasian Alumni for Science and Technology: Hasan Fard
• Outstanding Thomasian Alumni for Service to Humanity: Grace Tan Caktiong
• Outstanding Thomasian Alumni for Service to the Church: Assoc. Prof. Pilar Romero
• Young Thomasian Achiever Award: National Youth Commission Asst. Sec. Paul Anthony Pangilinan
• Thomasian Family Award: JSLA Architects’ Ling Family
• Posthumous Award: Engr. Mariano Agoncillo

UST and its Alumni Association Inc. have recognized over 295 alumni and 10 families that showcased significant contributions and bagged awards from different award-giving bodies since 1993 through TOTAL Awards.