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By Perry Gil S. Mallari
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Photo by
KJ Rosales |
It is best to describe Mary B. Tolentino’s
life as an amalgam of creative and noble pursuits. A medical doctor
by training, Tolentino is an educator in the field of information
technology (IT). She currently holds top posts in two educational
institutions in Bacolod: as president of Medical Transcription and
Coding (MTC) Academy, which she described as IT-enabled; and as vice
president of the Institute of Manpower and Computer Technology
(Impact), an IT learning institute.
Calling the shots for two schools may seem too
much of a work for the average Jane but not for the
doctor-turned-educator. Tolentino is also into producing documentary
films, writing, dance, modeling and environmental protection. “But
above all these I’m also a mom,” she adds lightheartedly.
Tolentino’s passion to educate underprivileged
youths started after she relocated to Bacolod with her family in
1992. Remembering the sad plight of the poor children in the
province’s haciendas, she comments, “That’s when I realized
how lucky I was. Many children there were forced to work in the
fields at a tender age just to augment their family’s income.”
Tolentino initially tried to help by paying the
youth to do light tasks like cutting grasses though she soon
realized such kind act won’t go very far. “Since they earn their
own money at a young age, they also pursue vices early like smoking,
drinking and gambling,” she explains, adding, “Kung minsan
nagkakabuntisan pa [Some young girls even got pregnant].”
Tolentino was also astounded on how far some
barrio kids are left behind in terms of quality of education,
“Maraming bata roon malayo pa talaga ang hahabulin [A lot of
children there have a lot of catching up to do],” she laments. She
also narrates how surprised she was to learn that some kids she
encountered in Bacolod knew how to play computer games but were
ignorant on what a CD-ROM is. The same problem is present among the
ranks of educators, “Yung ibang teachers ginagawang typewriter ang
computer [Some teachers treat the computer as if it is a
typewriter],” Tolentino describes their lack of basic IT
knowledge.
With a mission to provide affordable yet quality
IT education to the youth, she established Impact with her engineer-
husband Paul Tolentino in 1999. Tolentino relates that their
institution, being non-stock and nonprofit, charges only minimal
fees to students. “We try to give them the best in terms of
instruction and facilities,” she relates with pride.
Tolentino, in addition to her degree in Medicine
from the University of the Philippines in Diliman, has a Masters
Degree in Educational Management from De La Salle University and a
Microsoft certification as an IT professional.
After years of toil, Impact today has gained
industry recognition as a provider of quality IT education. It holds
the distinction of doing away with traditional courses and
repositioning itself as a producer of outsourcing manpower. Among
its most popular courses are virtual assistant, technical support or
computer communications technology, software programming and
animation.
The school is also notable for its heavy
emphasis on the improvement of the student’s English language
skills. Tolentino points out that this is of utmost importance
because outsourcing firms deal with foreign clients particularly
Americans.
Though slowly seeing the fruits of their labor,
she relates that the early years weren’t easy. “Funding was
always a problem then,” she recalls, continuing, “There’s one
case when we accepted a batch of students as government scholars and
it took some time before their tuition fee was paid. Such things
really strain the school’s finances.”
Tolentino adds that competition is another tacky
hurdle to deal with when they were just starting out revealing that
some of her early competitors even came from her own ranks.
“It’s hurtful. Those people thought they could make easy money
through this venture, which of course they soon realized was not the
case,” she narrates. Tolentino though is clear-cut in her aim,
“Ang goal ko as an educator eh mabigyan ng trabaho ‘yung bata sa
poder ko [My goal as an educator is to increase the chance of my
students landing a job].” When things began to stabilize six years
after, the Tolentino couple established the MTC Academy in 2005.
Explaining her involvement in environmental
protection, Tolentino says she got into it after one of her clients
who were impressed by her logistical prowess commissioned her to
spearhead a reforestation project in Bacolod 10 years ago. “A
flood that wreaked havoc in the province prompted both the
government and the citizenry to do something about our denuded
forests,” she points out.
Tolentino’s reforestation strategy is plain
and pragmatic: educate the farmers on the harm of kaingin (slash and
burn) type of farming; commission them to grow the seedlings to be
used in the campaign as an added source of income; and implement
aggressive tree-planting program.
Though an active environmentalist, she admits
that she is not an outdoor person in real life, “I’m more of a
couch potato,” she says smiling then continues, “But this
pursuit is really gratifying. Those denuded forests looks brown from
afar before but now, they’re starting to turn green again.”
Driven by her passion to bridge the learning
divide in the country, Tolentino is currently cooking up another
project— her own radio program.” It would be mainly educational
but I would also like it to be entertaining,” she explains with
excitement. One of the subjects that Tolentino plans to tackle via
the medium of radio is conversational English. Underscoring its
importance she intones, “Ang hirap magtastas ng maling grammar
‘pag nakasanayan na [It’s hard to correct wrong grammar once a
person got accustomed to it].” With her love for the arts
apparent, the spirited educator also aims to use the program to
promote local artists, “That would be the entertainment component
of the show,” she explains.
Tolentino is the first to admit that the
endeavor needs a lot of research and planning stressing that she
doesn’t want to repeat what other institutions are already doing.
She says she won’t turn down support from the government if
offered but what she’s really gunning for is a strong endorsement
from both national and local bureaucracy. “The success of projects
such as this was sometimes hampered by the conflicts between those
two camps,” Tolentino bemoans.
Despite her many accomplishments, it is in
motherhood that Tolentino finds the most satisfaction. She is a mom
to two lovely daughters—21-year-old Timmy and Angela, five. She
describes herself as a “liberal” mother, which is a complete
opposite of the way she was raised by her own mom. “I was an only
child so it’s understandable why my mother brought me up under
stricter rules,” she relates.
Tolentino is proud of the fact that she is
raising self-reliant and independent children. Her daughter Timmy
attended elite schools—Poveda and De La Salle but is very
street-smart. “She knows how to ride the jeepney and the MRT,”
Tolentino says laughing.
Talking about her youngest daughter Angela, she
shifts into a more serious tone. “She has Down syndrome, a
disorder that affects cognitive ability,” she reveals. Tolentino
narrates that her child’s medical condition did not break her
spirit, “Right from the time when she was still in my womb, I have
committed myself to raise her in the best possible way I can,” she
declares, her love as a mother evident. Tolentino’s benevolent
pledge paid off six years down the line for today, Angela is an
energetic young girl able to take care of herself despite her
medical condition. With her firsthand experience as a mother of a
child with Down syndrome, she is pushing an advocacy for children
who have similar condition. “I want to teach the public that an
individual with Down syndrome can be functional and productive
members of society,” she stresses.
When asked how she maintained equilibrium given
her helter-skelter lifestyle, Tolentino did not answer “Oh, I go
into a shopping spree,” or some other saccharine response typical
of women. “You should learn to face your dark side. You should
know how to deal with your shadow,” she says cryptically. Such is
Mary Tolentino—a woman of depth; a woman with a mission.
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