A Letter from the Heavens by the Heavens

Wow, I’m amazed by how one entry could reach a person from a distance. The article about Dr. Soria (my former professor in the masters program) has been posted long ago and I was surprised that his niece has commented on the article about him. I decided to just reply here since I visit this site more often than my emails. So Romalyn, please read on…

Dear Romalyn,

I was surprised to receive a comment from you about the former Dr. Soria. I knew him at a professional standpoint. He became my professor in 2000 when I started my master’s degree in UP. My encounters with him grew frequent when he became my instructor in two of my subjects, one was in educational research while the other one was in educational foundations. He was undoubtedly an excellent teacher. He knew the ins and outs of the educational system, making him an excellent contributor to education. Graduate students all over the university always invite him if not to be a critic/ reader, a member of the panel in many thesis and dissertations. His academic excellence not only made him a perfectionist but also a strict and firm kind of professor. That qualities were a plus for most of the students but for some that could have brought some initial negative impressions. He wanted all things in perfection as much as possible. For example, I had a classmate before whom he humiliated in front of the whole class because she couldn’t not report very well. Dr. Soria wanted an extemporaneous, free flowing reports rather  than just reading what you have prepared on your visual aids. Another example was when he threw out a student from the room because of being so late in class. He could shout at you in front of everybody when performance seemed poor. All these things just proved how he wanted every student he teaches to be an excellent student in the University of the Philippines. That was how Dr. Soria mold us to be the best among the rest. That was actually a typical culture in UP but some people could not take the pressure. Dr. Soria was a representation of how UP professors could be the perfect teachers in their own respective fields. You should be proud of your uncle, he was just great. I carry in me everything I learned from him. He was the first professor I came to encounter when I entered my masters program and he was also the last person I came to see after I have finished my program. I couldn’t forget the last words he said…

"Mag- enroll ka na ng Ph.D. mo habang nandito pa ako!"

Little did I know, hindi ko na siya naabutan…