subheader_events

OBMC honors 11 new alumni awardees for its 55th anniversary

NOV 19

article24

OBMC Founder and President Emerita Dr. Preciosa S. Soliven and President and COO Mrs. Sara Soliven -De Guzman with the alumni awardees of 2022: (L-R) Dr. RJ Naguit, Prof. Felipe Jocano Jr., Ayesha Merdeka Alonto, Cheszka Gonzales, Atty. Evecar Cruz-Ferrer, and Angkas CEO George Royeca.

November 19, 2022, saw the OB Montessori Alumni Awards held at Club Filipino. This event was all about recognizing and awarding the 11 most outstanding graduates of OBMC on its 55th anniversary.

These awardees hailed from different batches, some from as early as 1977 and as recent as 2010. All of them have been chosen for their advocacies to help make a positive change in their respective fields.

Honoring the Alumni

This event follows the previous 50-year anniversary in 2016, where OBMC recognized many notable graduates for contributions to Filipino society.

Among the previous awardees were Lea Salonga in the field of entertainment; Anton Laquindanum in the field of Economics and Banking; Chef Miko Aspiras in the field of business and entrepreneurship; Michael Deakin in the field of Public Service; and Dr. Rafael Jocson in the field of medicine.

The Awardees

Five years later, these 11 new awardees have been handpicked by Founder and President Emerita Dr. Preciosa Soliven, President and Chief Operating Officer Sara Soliven-de Guzman, as well as selected academic and administrative personnel.

article242

Among these distinguished individuals is George Royeca, from High School Batch 1999. This social entrepreneur is the co-founder of ANGKAS, one of the most widely used motorcycle ride-hailing services in the country today. He has also been recognized as one of the Ten Outstanding Young Men in the Philippines.

Another alumni awardee is Rachel Alejandro of Batch 1990. She was chosen specifically for her work with the movie Larawan, a 2017 cinematic adaptation of the Ryan Cayabyab-Rolando Tinio musical of Nick Joaquin’s Portrait of an Artist as Filipino. The story is about two impoverished sisters agonizing over selling a painting, their father’s final masterpiece.

Rachel is a renowned singer, actress, and producer with 15 albums to her name, along with appearances in plays, TV shows, and movies. She also won accolades like the Aliw Award, Awit Award, and Metro Pop Award.

article242

Ayesha Merdeka Alonto is another outstanding graduate of OBMC batch 1990. She is currently the Officer-in-charge and Executive Director of Mindanao State University.

Ayesha oversees the operations of the university’s 13 campuses in Mindanao. Her initiatives include globalization programs and student exchange programs with other universities all over the Philippines.

Among her advocacies, she also champions the Muslim women’s rights to education and empowerment.

From Batch 1997 is Atty. Evecar Cruz-Ferrer, who is an internationally recognized humanitarian lawyer with a focus on crafting rules of engagement during armed conflict.

Atty. Cruz-Ferrer is a law professor at the Ateneo de Manila University School of Law, the De La Salle University College of Law, and other prestigious colleges. She is also a partner in the Ferrer and Associates Law Office, where she specializes in international law.

Among her achievements include overseeing the legal affairs of the Red Cross as the organization’s International Humanitarian Law coordinator. Locally, she also served as a consultant for the Commission on Human Rights, the Department of Justice, and the Philippine Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative.

O.B. Montessori Center is proud to honor these outstanding graduates and count them among its most prestigious alumni awardees for 2022. If you wish to know more about our alumni, check out our official website!