Four decades of 'magis'
Two distinguished awardees will be the recipients of the 40-year Service Awards at the 37th University Service Awards to be held on 12 February at the High School Covered Courts.
Dean Emeritus of the Ateneo Law School Fr. Joaquin Bernas, SJ and High School lab technician Mr. Joseph Del Valle will be feted for their 40 years of service to the Ateneo.
Read about their respective Ateneo journeys:
Fr. Joaquin G. Bernas, SJ
Father Joaquin G. Bernas, S.J. has served his country well.
As a lawyer—he placed 9th in the 1962 Bar Exams, was a key figure in drafting the new charter that replaced the 1973 Constitution as a member of the 1986 Constitutional Commission, and remains a go-to resource person in explaining the legal aspects of current issues.
As a writer, Father Bernas has written numerous publications on law and pens a weekly column in the Philippine Daily Inquirer called Sounding Board.
As a member of the Society of Jesus, Father Bernas has served as Provincial Superior of Philippine Province (1976-1982) and Rector of the Jesuit Residence (1994-2000).
But to the Ateneo community to which he has devoted much of his life, he is simply Father B. It is an affectionate nickname for the Atenean who has served his alma mater for four decades now.
Father B completed his law studies at the Ateneo Law School (ALS) in 1962, graduating at the top of his class. Yet his first brush with the Ateneo began when he was 17—when he joined the Society of Jesus, the religious congregation which established the Ateneo de Manila University in 1859.
Driven by the Ignatian credo to be ‘men and women for others,’ Father B returned to his alma mater to teach. He started teaching at ALS, a post he truly enjoyed, teaching Constitutional Law and Public International Law to freshmen and sophomore classes. His background in English, Latin and Greek classics also proved to be useful when he taught at the Ateneo High School. With his brilliance, energy, passion and empathy, it was not a surprise when Father B became the dean of ALS twice—from 1972 to 1976 and from 2000 to 2004. In 1984, Father B was appointed president of the Ateneo de Manila, a position he held until 1993. Upon his retirement in 2004, Father B was bestowed the position Dean Emeritus of ALS.
In 2008, ALS named a center after Father B. The Fr. Joaquin G. Bernas, S.J. Center for Continuing Legal Education and Research serves as a resource center for practicing lawyers. The center holds legal education series, undertakes legal research and produces legal publications.
After four decades of generously serving the profession, university and community, Father B remains a positive force in the field of academic law, inspiring students, professors, lawyers and advocates of the law to pursue justice and good governance.
Mr. Joseph Del Valle
High School Laboratory Technician Joseph Del Valle is one of the two awardees for the 40 years in service this coming February at the annual University Service Awards.
His 40 years in the High School came by easy, according to him, because of his love for his work. “Nag-enjoy ako, ‘di ko namalayan ang 40 years,” Del Valle shares.
Starting to work at the age 19, it was Fr. Francisco Perez SJ who offered him the job to be a technician in the Biology laboratory of the High School. Fr Perez was the boss of his father who was also working in the college that time. Still a freshman in a different university taking up BS Electrical Engineering, Del Valle says he was quite hesitant at first because he had little knowledge of laboratories. His father encouraged him to apply and got accepted eventually. He learned the craft through books, seminars, and through Fr Perez himself, who is a marine biologist. After graduating in college, he decided to stay in Ateneo.
Aside from his work at the laboratory, Del Valle has held numerous undertakings in the University. He was President of the Staff Club in the High School, Coach of the faculty and staff basketball league, and an administrative officer for the Ateneo Football Center. “After ng work mo from Monday to Friday, Saturday, Sunday naman nasa field ka,” he shares.
His 40 years in the University hold many memorable learnings and experiences for him. Some of these include their outreach program in Sariaya, Quezon where they built a small chapel for a farmer community back when he was still President of the Staff Club, and during the time of the EDSA revolution when then University President Fr. Joaquin Bernas, SJ, encouraged them to join the rallies in EDSA.
Del Valle also shares his sense of joy and pride whenever he sees his former students become successful in life. He notes that Fr Tito Caluag, Fr. Magadia, Pres. Noynoy Aquino, Jinggoy Estrada, were among the many students he handled. The secret to this he shares, “Kailangan ka rin maging matiyaga on how to deal with students.”
On December 16 this year was his last day as a lab technician as he will already be retiring. This day also coincided with his birthday and his 40t wedding anniversary. Upon retiring, he says that he will be spending more time with his family especially, with his 7 grandchildren. He will definitely still be coming back to school once in a while for the training of his lab tech replacement and to bring his grandchildren to school. He will also be continuing with his work on football since he is a licensed match commissioner.
He advises young employees to set goals for themselves and look at these accomplishments every 5 years. This, for him, is important to know your direction in life.
“Walang mabigat ang hindi mo kakayanin basta gusto mo,” he says. He also notes that it is important to be humble to acknowledge your weakness and ask help from others. “Kung hindi ka hihingi ng tulong, hindi ka matututo,” he adds. In the same way, he says not be be greedy of your knowledge to others. Furthermore, he also emphasized the value of pakikisama and discipline as important traits at work.
