Five alumni will be conferred the Outstanding Sillimanian Award (OSA) on August 28, 2023, 10:00 a.m. at the Claire Isabel McGill Luce Auditorium. They will be recognized for espousing the ideals of Silliman as demonstrated in their personal and professional lives and their community involvement.
Ambassador Kira Christianne D. Azucena will be recognized for her excellence in government service/ international relations and diplomacy. Educated in Silliman University (SU) from early childhood to college (Bachelor of Mass Communication, magna cum laude), she embarked on a career in foreign service. She made remarkable contributions when she was assigned as Deputy Consul General in Hong Kong and in Rome and when she served as Charge d’ Affaires to the United Nations’ headquarters in New York. Currently, she serves as Chief of Mission, Class I Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to New Zealand, with concurrent jurisdiction over the Republic of Fiji, the Kingdom of Tonga, the Independent State of Samoa, and the Cook Islands. She also served as the Chief of Staff at the Office of Secretary, Department of Foreign Affairs, and the Assistant Secretary at the Office of the United Nations and International Organizations.
Sandeep Gopichand Chandiramani will receive an award for excellence in entrepreneurship and finance. He finished his basic education in SU and later on matriculated at the University of the Philippines (UP), where he obtained his business and accountancy degree; and at East Carolina University, where he earned his master’s degree in business administration. For eight years, he was affiliated with Red Hat, Inc., a US-based IT company that revolutionized the Enterprise Linux operating system. He and his partner introduced an innovative channel sales infrastructure; thereby, commercializing the subscription services of open source software (OSS) and paving the way for mass adoption of OSS that benefitted thriving companies today like Google, Amazon, Facebook, among others. When he came back to the Philippines, he committed himself to helping small and medium businesses succeed, offering non-collateral loans. By establishing iGlobal Financial Services, Inc., Sandeep has competently provided an appropriate financial platform and professional advisory services to small industries, allowing them to expand and become large businesses.
Dr. Louella L. Dolar-Perrin will receive her OSA for excellence in wildlife conservation and management. A graduate of Bachelor of Science in Biology (cum laude), she has immersed herself in conservation projects, lecturing in fishing villages on coral reef preservation, establishing marine protected areas, and advocating for environmental protection. She helped establish SU’s Center for Tropical Studies (CENTROP), which pioneered the captive breeding of the Visayan spotted deer, a species at the brink of extinction. The center continues to thrive today and expanded its conservation of other species endemic to Visayas. She has done numerous research, notably the fish surveys in the mangroves and seagrass beds in Bais Bay, which significantly showed the important role of mangroves and seagrasses as nursery grounds for coastal and oceanic fishes. Her cetacean research in the Philippines led to the issuance of the Fisheries Administrative Order 185, which protects dolphins throughout Philippine waters. The law has since been expanded to include whales.
Dr. Maria Salud F. Kho will be recognized for her contribution to medicine and community service. She took her pre-med course at SU, taking an Associate Arts degree and graduating with honors in 1961 before enrolling at the UP College of Medicine. She did her internship training in New York, eventually becoming a resident in Obstetrics-Gynecology at the Cleveland Metropolitan General Hospital. Soon after, she attended Louisiana State University School of Medicine for her fellowship training in High-Risk Obstetrics. Dr. Kho’s reputation as a skilled doctor precedes her in the Province of Negros Oriental. Thus, she has delivered thousands of babies and taken care of innumerable mothers. Couples having difficulty conceiving approach her for advice. Mothers with delicate pregnancies, especially those diagnosed with antiphospholipid syndrome, prefer to be managed by her.
Dr. Asterio P. Saliot will be recognized for his contribution to agriculture extension. A graduate of Bachelor of Science in Agriculture in 1978, he served as the director of the Agricultural Training Institute (ATI) from 1997 to 2018 where he led the crafting of programs that would capacitate and empower farmers, enabling them to have stable incomes. He elevated learning sites to School for Practical Agriculture which allowed farmers to become trainers; assisted in converting farms to farm tourism sites, making farmers agri-preneurs; and enabled other farmers and youths to avail of ATI’s ladderized courses on agrientrepreneurship. To modernize the delivery of agriculture extension, he also pushed for the Electronic-Extension Program (e-Extension) for Agriculture and Fisheries to enable farmers to easily access information.
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Photo Caption: (L-R) Ambassador Kira Christianne D. Azucena, Sandeep Gopichand Chandiramani, Dr. Louella L. Dolar-Perrin, Dr. Maria Salud F. Kho, Dr. Asterio P. Saliot
