NEVER in her wildest dreams did she dream of becoming the first female president of the then Trinity College of Quezon City.
But with her patience, determination, and innovativeness, Dr. Josephine Suerte-Sumaya became the dynamic spirit behind the elevation of the college to university status. Now, she is scaling greater heights as the inaugural president of the Trinity University of Asia.
Up the ladder
A true-blooded Thomasian, Sumaya was appointed acting president by Trinity’s Board of Trustees in 2001. With all her plans bearing fruition, she was officially made president in 2003, becoming the first woman president of the college owned and managed by the Episcopalian Church.
She spearheaded curricular development and faculty improvement, paving the way for Trinity’s promotion to university status last year.
“Our becoming a university is the fruit of hard work and uncompromising determination. We are here because we earned it,” Sumaya said.
A versatile educator, Sumaya first served as Trinity’s Behavioral Sciences Department head for five years. She also took several positions in the History and Political Science departments.
She also became the Dean of Students Affairs and Dean of the School for Advanced Studies in 1989-1998 and 1993-2002, respectively. Her leadership in multi-disciplinary studies tested her mettle, and proved she had what it takes to handle the university’s top position.
Now that Trinity has become a university, Sumaya plans the renovations of the Health Sciences, Hotel and Restaurant Management, and Arts and Sciences buildings. She also plans to develop other facilities such as the gym and the swimming pool.
On September 18, Sumaya will inaugurate the Statue of Ascension, one of her major projects for Trinity, which will serve as a monumental landmark of the new university. She says all of her projects, especially the Statue of Ascension, are “Thomasian-inspired.”
“It’s the Thomasian spirit in me that inspired these projects,” she said. “If UST has the Main Building and the statue of Benavides to awe students and visitors, I also want to give the people in Trinity the same kind of familiarity and pride whenever they see these landmarks.”
Sumaya claims that vital to her ease and confidence in leading the Trinitian community is the religious upbringing she got from UST.
“My Christian values always shine as some of the traits that people always see in me,” she said.
At home in the Graduate School
Sumaya considers UST one of her “second homes away from home,” she explained. She spent 15 years of schooling in the University.
During her college days, Sumaya proved to be exceptional in academics. As a History and Sociology major, she was a consistent dean’s lister. She admits being shy, as she was not very active in extra-curricular activities.
“I was a very simple and quiet student back then. I was not very much involved in student activities,” she said.
In an attempt to break the monotony of her Thomasian life, Sumaya applied in the Varsitarian but was unfortunately rejected several times. But she still satisfied her passion for writing by contributing short stories to Liwayway and Bulaklak magazines in 1957 and 1958.
“Back then I was paid P15 for every story,” she said. “At that time, it was quite a large amount.”
Immediately after graduating in 1958, she landed a post in the then-College of Architecture and Fine Arts as a professor. At the young age of 20, she was already teaching History, Philosophy, Political Science, and Rizal.
“I was so young then that my male students used to tease me. I looked as young as them and it became a problem so I decided to stop,” she said.
After joining Trinity’s faculty in 1960 to teach History, Sumaya pursued graduate studies in UST. She earned her Master’s degree in History in 1978.
In 1989, she earned her PhD in Development Education. It was in fact during her Graduate School days when Sumaya cultivated a circle of friends composed of classmates, professors, and even the dean, Rev. Fr. Tony Aureada, O.P. Although treading on separate roads, Sumaya and her Graduate School colleagues still meet every April for a casual get-together.
“Until now my relations with the Graduate School are still very warm,” she said.
The Graduate School, in turn, recognized her outstanding achievements in education. On the 60th anniverary of the Graduate School, she was one of the 60 recipients of the Diamond Award, given to outstanding alumni achievers.
Besides an enduring friendship with her colleagues, Sumaya also found her soul mate in UST. While in her senior year in college, she met her husband Cornelio Sumaya, an employee at the accounting division.
“I didn’t know that he liked me then. He used to run errands so he could go to our building and see me,” she narrated.
Proud to be a teacher
Her life may have been too big a dream for someone who never had plans about leading a big institution, but Sumaya has always started everything with small steps.
Beginning as an ordinary teacher herself, Sumaya believes that educators are the best role models in society. Although she thinks that teachers’ values are deteriorating due to economic reasons, she continues to give Trinity the best kind of service it deserves.
“Most of our teachers go abroad because they earn more there, that’s why we are left with the ones who are not so good,” she said.
It has been and still a long way up to the top, but Sumaya never stops from doing what she does best—turning her aspirations into something grand.
From plain teacher to university president, from leading a college’s campaign to full university status, the Tigress in Trinity truly proves that big things do come in small packages. Ayn Rand I. Parel
