The little giant
A tribute to Josefina ‘Nena’ Solis-Cornelio
By Nikka Cornelio-Baker
We lost Grandma on Oct. 11th, 2024. She was a giant in the academe, a woman who more than held her own in the sphere of education.
In Silliman University – the institution she loved dearly, and served for 38 years – she went from college student, to schoolteacher, to high school principal, to Dean of Education, to Vice President of Academic Affairs.
She was instrumental in the improvement of the delivery of education in the University, founding the Office of Instruction.
When she retired, Silliman bestowed on her the status of Professor Emerita, and in 2006, the Province gave her the Outstanding Oriental Negrense Award in the field of Education.
She was many things to many people: a mother, a grandmother, a great-grandmother, a sister, an aunt, a sponsor, a teacher, a friend, a mentor.
For a small woman (she was only 4’8”), she loomed large, leaving huge footsteps that are impossible to fill. I was, and will continue to be, immensely proud of her, and everything she accomplished in her 93 years on this earth.
Grandma was one of my favourite storytellers — tales of her adventures growing up, meeting my GrandDad, going to school and her experiences abroad were highlights I always asked her to recount.
She was a solicitous woman, taking note of people’s preferences, and going out of her way to ensure they were met.
For Sunday dinners, if she served fried chicken, I knew she’d always have a chicken drumstick set aside for me because she knew that was my favourite part.
If she found fresh bongkawil (conch) or razor clams at the market, she’d get them because she knew I loved them.
She was also gentle and kind, with hardly anything mean to say about anyone.
I don’t think I’ve ever met a single person who had anything bad to say about her. Not to my face, anyway.
Grandma was a kind woman, but she could also be fierce when tested; she was never afraid to stand up for herself or what she believed in.
Grandma was, and will continue to be, one of my major inspirations. She would return from sojourns abroad with loads of books. I first read Erma Bombeck because of her, sparking a lifelong appreciation for dry, witty, humorous writing.
She encouraged me to love the English language, and demonstrated the importance of following one’s passions, and never losing one’s sense of self.
She was, to me, a marvelous example of a woman who never let anything get in her way — be it the Second World War, gender, hearing loss, even age.
I will always be grateful that I got to come home this year, and spend time with her before she left, and that I also get to say goodbye. I love her, I learned from her, and I am grateful to her for so many things.
Thank you for everything, Grandma. Be at peace; you have more than earned your rest.