Silliman honors three outstanding alumni
This year, Silliman University honors on Aug 28 three of its alumni with the prestigious Outstanding Sillimanian Award (OSA). They are Dr. Celan J. Alo for Medical Research and Epidemiology, Mr. Mariano C. Lao for Business Entrepreneurship, and Dr. Leorey N. Saligan for Cancer Research. The three will receive their awards during the OSA Convocation to be held at the Claire Isabel McGill Luce auditorium on Aug. 28.
CELAN J. ALO
Dr. Celan J. Alo. His lifework as a researcher and epidemiologist is recognized for its significant contributions to disease control, preventive health initiatives, and physical fitness.
Dr. Alo’s preparation for a life of service began in his home town of Nasipit, Agusan. Following the World War II years, many Evangelical Christian families in Mindanao believed that a Silliman education for their children would make up for the deprivations that the war had brought. Dr. Alo’s parents sent all three of their children to Silliman, with the youngest, Celan, finishing his secondary schooling in 1969 and earning his Bachelor of Science degree in 1974. Medical studies at the Cebu Institute of Medicine earned him a Doctor of Medicine degree in 1978. Serving his internship at the Riverside Medical Center in Bacolod City, he was named the “Most Outstanding Intern of the Year” in 1979. With his license as a physician, he returned to his hometown in Agusan and was employed as a Public Health Physician for several years.
While working as a medical epidemiologist at the Illinois Department of Public Health in Springfield, he strengthened his academic credentials by completing a Masters degree in Public Health at the University of Illinois in 1996 after he had further training in Epidemiology at Tufts University in Massachusetts (1990), and as a Fellow at the Chicago School of Public Health, University of Illinois (1993-1994).
From 1986 to 1991, Dr. Alo worked with the Illinois Department of Health in Springfield, Illinois, the Illinois State Career Registry and the Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes Reporting System (1991-1992), and the Division of Epidemiologic Studies (1986-1997). Moving to Austin, Texas in 1997, he served the Bureau of Chronic Disease and Tobacco Prevention (1997-2004), and the Institutional Review Board (1997-2002). His longest employment, however, was with the Population Health Division of the United States Air Force as Medical Epidemiologist (2004-2016). After 30 years, he retired from the Department of Defense, United States Armed Forces Epidemiological Research Team.
Dr. Alo has published countless health-related articles, research papers, and study cases promoting health prevention and disease control and about his studies in radiation and occupational safety and hazards. He was Medical Review Editor and a contributing author for the Health and Wellness textbook (McMillan/McGraw-Hill Publishing Company) that was used by public school students from kindergarten to 8th grade in 2014.
Beyond being a researcher and epidemiologist, Dr. Alo also actively participates in community life through his membership and leadership in the Central Illinois Phil-Am Society and the Filipino-American Society in Springfield. He has not forgotten his Christian roots and his alma mater, observing the “Silliman Spirit” and fostering an attitude of service, sharing his talents, time, and resources generously.
MARIANO C. LAO
Mariano C. Lao. As he tells it, Mariano C. Lao was an “irrepressible juvenile” who was sent to Silliman by his father. His parent was losing hope in his sixteen-year old son and warned him that it was his last chance to change his ways; otherwise, he would be condemned to a life of minding their sari-sari store in Catbalogan, Samar.
Life in a Silliman dormitory with its strict rules and discipline proved difficult for young Mariano. He enjoyed the extra-curricular weight-lifting class of eminent ornithologist Prof. Dioscoro Rabor, but his grades were failing. Forced to leave the dorm in his junior year, he was taken in by the faculty couple, biologists Dioscoro and Lina Rabor. In the Rabor home, Mr. Lao learned to develop patience and respect for others in interpersonal relationships. He also built up his self-discipline and self-pride when he joined Prof. Rabor’s field expeditions to collect specimens for science.
Mr. Lao obtained his high school diploma in 1957, but his sense of achievement was dashed when a big fire in Catbalogan completely burned down everything his family owned. As the eldest of seven siblings, Mr. Lao felt it was his responsibility to help his family recover from their misfortune. With only eighteen pesos in his pocket, he stowed away on a ship bound for Manila where he hoped to find employment.
The first job he found was at a construction supply store which he said was marked by hunger, abuse, and insults and taking turns with co-workers in sleeping because sleeping facilities were not enough. He then worked at odd jobs in Manila including a difficult stint as a door-to-door salesman when people slammed doors in his face, and yelled insults at him for bothering them. He refused to be daunted and sometimes found comfort in the words of the Silliman Song: “And the faith and truth she gave us will remain our guiding star.”
In time, his patience and perseverance paid off and he began to reap success in selling household items such as refrigerators, fans, and radios. He realized that he had a talent for selling which would help him gain a better life. By hard work, determination, and perseverance he became the top salesman of Atlantic Pulp and Paper Corp. in a few months so that his employer offered him the position of Sales Manager. He graciously turned it down because he had his own plans that included having his own business. Proctor and Gamble also hired him and valued his success in sales.
In the late 1960’s he started a modest packaging venture which slowly evolved into a lucrative export business. He founded the Stampak Group of Companies with himself as Chairman. Stampak became the country’s largest exporter of rattan furniture and accessories, a full handicraft line, with linkages to hundreds of suppliers. Through Stampak, Philippine products reached major international retailers in the U.S. (Walmart and Target), Italy (La Renacente), France (Galaries Lafeyete), Spain (El Corte Ingles) and Germany (Karstadt and Kaufhaf). Twenty-three years after it was established, Sstampak received the Golden Shell Award, the highest award conferred by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and Citem for pioneering in the export of Philippine handicrafts to the European market.
A caring employer, Mr. Lao has helped many families over the years, providing meaningful long-term employment for breadwinners. Mr. Lao’s other interests include an appreciation for culture and the arts; he has built a notable art collection that he shares with the public through museum loans and as gifts to institutions.
Mr. Lao returned to Silliman in 2007 to attend the 50th anniversary of his high school graduation, thus starting yearly visits to his alma mater. In 2010 he created a scholarship foundation for High School students from poor families who demonstrate exemplary intelligence and effort in their studies. Starting in 2010 and every year thereafter until 2035, scholarships would be awarded to eight student scholars. The scholarship fund, previously named after his former benefactor Mrs. Lina F. Rabor, is known today as the Mariano and Lina Lao Scholarship (Lina being also the name of his wife). Some of his scholars have completed their college studies and are now licensed professionals.
Other significant donations of Mr. Lao in 2017 are the Mariano and Lina Lao Activity Center, a two-storey structure for extra-curricular activities, and the Mariano Lao Technology Laboratory for Innovation, Creation, and Inventions (ICI) on the High School campus.
Mariano C. Lao, the irrepressible juvenile who was born 83 years ago in Amoy, China but grew up in the Philippines, has been inducted to the Order of Horace Brinsmade Silliman (OHBS), the highest public recognition and expression of gratitude that the University confers on its donors and gift givers who follow the determined spirit of generosity of the man after whom the University is named.
LEOREY N. SALIGAN
Leorey N. Saligan. The lifework of this health researcher from northern Mindanao is the search for ways to lessen the pain of cancer, which his parents lived with while he was growing up in Cagayan de Oro City.
He studied at Silliman and earned his first academic degree in 1988 in the field of health care–B.S. Medical Technology. He went on to earn a second degree, B.S. Nursing, from Liceo de Cagayan in 1992, where he worked for several years before leaving for further training and research in the United States. Postgraduate work earned him an M.S. in Family Nursing (2003) and a Ph.D. in the same field (2007) from the University of Hampton in Virginia, where he specialized in cancer research as his life work.
Dr. Saligan has served as an adjunct professor at the Virginia Commonwealth University (Richmond, VA), the University of Kansas, (Kansas City, MO), and the University of North Dakota (Grand Forks, ND).
Currently a respected Nursing Professor and a Nurse Scientist, he heads a team of doctors, nurses, and scientists searching for ways to ease patients’ fatigue accompanying chemotherapy and other cancer treatments. The team believes that a better understanding of the underlying biology of cancer-related fatigue (CRF) would help patients with other problems. Biomarkers for CRF have been patented by him and his team. As chief of the Symptoms Biology Unit and the Director of the Symptoms Science Center in the Intramural Research Program of the National Institute of Nursing Research in Bethesda, Maryland, Dr. Saligan sustains the research spirit of young nurse researchers by providing opportunities for post-doctoral education through his research ingenuity and management skills.
An important part of Dr. Saligan’s life is church work. Starting as a five-year-old who sang with the Family Choir of the Cagayan de Oro United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP), he became its Youth Choir director in his teens. At Silliman, he sang with the Covenant Choir and Souled Out Singers, and was a leader in many activities of the Christian Youth Fellowship (CYF).
He worked with the youth group of the First Presbyterian Church in Odessa, Texas to develop their interpretative dance program and was involved in the formation of the Filipino United Church of Christ (UCC) in Hampton Roads, Virginia Beach, VA.
He now lives in Germantown, Maryland and is a member of the UCC in Seneca Valley, where he developed the self-care ministry, put together a monthly self-care newsletter for the church, and serves on their Christian Education Committee.
Dr. Saligan’s many recognitions and awards include: Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing (FAAN) for securing a patent for his research on cancer-related fatigue; Early Career Investigator Award, Multinational Supportive Care in Cancer, Berlin, Germany in 2013; Unit Commendation Medal, Office of the Surgeon General, United States Public Service, Dept. of Health and Human Services, Washington, D.C. in 2014; Exceptional Proficiency Promotion to Captain, Office of the Surgeon General, United State Public Health Service in 2016; and Presidential Unit Citation awarded by President Barack Obama in 2016.
