Alumni Update May 17 – 23, 2021

Boston-based alumna moderates Stanford speakers series

Outstanding Sillimanian Awardee (OSA), Prof. Priscilla  Lasmarias  Kelso   (AB/English,  1961,  magna  cum  laude),   was handpicked by  Stanford  University,  her graduate school alma mater, to moderate a  Zoom panel last  May  8, 2021 for  Asian  American alumni and students.  The topic discussed was on  “The   Stories That  Shape  Our  Lives” and the power of stories over our lives and our identities.

Prof. Priscilla Lasmarias Kelso  

Two of the speakers were Dr.  Dien  Ho,  philosopher  and  medical  ethicist  in  Boston;  and  Atty. Cecillia  Wang,  a  civil rights attorney with the  American  Civil  Liberties  Union  (ACLU).   Woven into the narratives was the theme of trauma and resilience in the generations of  Asian  Americans in  America.

Prof.  Lasmarias  Kelso taught at  Silliman’s  English  Department for  5  years after her graduate studies at  Stanford.   She and her husband, Rev.  Bart  Kelso,  have returned to Silliman several times,  and in  2012,  they served as volunteer faculty after retirement. Rev. Kelso also shared his gift of preaching with Silliman University Church, a giving-back gesture that the Kelsos advocate.

Prof. Kelso received her OSA in the field of Education in 2004. Their daughter, Rachel Maria, works with global philanthropy.   The Kelsos are active members of the Silliman Association of  New  England (SANE),  the alumni chapter hosting Tipon on  July 7 – 10, 2022 in Boston.