Being a mother is no joke. I was pretty reminded by that fact during the recently concluded Miss World coronation night when one contestant was asked: “The frontrunner in all the surveys for the post of president is a woman. If she were to ask you, should she run for president even if her children are very young, what advice would you give her?” Now Miss Multinational 2021 Shaila Rebortera herself emphasized in her answer that women nowadays are “strong and brave in many different ways.”
Indeed, we owe our existence to our mothers. No matter how different they are, they are the ones who toiled so much to let us out in this world literally and figuratively. But apart from being mothers to us, they are also varied facets of femininity. They, too, have their own career paths to chase and aspirations that look forward for themselves. Now, a living testimony to the dynamics of juggling motherhood and becoming an empowered woman is our very own OSAS Director Ma’am Rosario C. Rago.
For forty-four (44) long years, she had served the Enverga University and the studentry. As the OSAS director, she has been monitoring and overseeing the affairs of the University Collegiate Student Council and the Luzonian. She also looks after other responsibilities attached to her position.
Aside from that, through the years, she also handled classes as an educator and was able to finish her doctorate degree in 2018. The accomplishments that she had are also complementary to her lifetime equal, namely, Dean Guillermo Rago. In her 44-year service, she is also a homemaker and is a doting mother to her children. Indeed, “strong and brave in many different ways” is an understatement.
Current adviser and former editor-in-chief of the Luzonian, Mr. John Rover Sinag, described her as the mother that has too many stories…that typical mother who amuses her children with her stories and playbacks of stories. There are times that she’s strict but she’s also the one who compliments her Luzonian children of rewards for “good deeds” and accomplishments.
Working with Ma’am Rose from a layout artist, to becoming an editor-in-chief, to guiding the Luzonian as an adviser, Joro had seen through Ma’am Rose that she’s the kind of mother who motivates one to reach his/her full potential.
On a personal note, she is not just an administrator. She is more of a mother to us. I came to the Luzonian during its dark days and the challenge to resurrect it and publish again was immense. Being a Luzonian newbie and holding the highest position that time in the publication, I always sought her advice as to how we can work on challenges presented to us. And she never turned her back on us.
She was the mother that did not give up on us. The accomplishment of resurrecting the Luzonian back was not just the collaborative efforts of the writers, artists, editors, and advisers but also the product of the people who did not give up on us and who did not falter in believing that we still can. Since then, she has treated me as her own child and I also regard her as my ‘pseudo Mama.’
Another pseudo-child of Ma’am Rose is Jerick Emprese, a former UCSC chairperson. He considers Ma’am Rose or Mama Rose (as he calls her) as his number one supporter especially during his term as chairperson. She always give positive inputs and compliments upon his advocacies and projects.
He recounts that his most memorable motherly moment with Mama Rose was during the UCSC Constitutional Convention. It was when he saw that Mama Rose was there for him and for the entire council in trying to make waves and advocate change for the studentry. He had learned so much from Mama Rose, learnings that he holds tight even beyond the chairpersonship and principles that he cherishes even as he transgressed towards married life.
We were the only few of the students touched by Mama Rose. Can you imagine how many were touched in her forty-four (44) years of service? How many lives were empowered by her motherly care and guidance? But more than that, she is not just a career-driven woman She had been this awesome as well in her own household.
She is described by her own daughter, Dr. MayCrystel Rago, as “loving, caring, and selfless. Very sensitive in the needs of her family. Generous in all possible way.” She commends that her mother successfully balanced her life both within her office and home through her good time management skills.
To her, her mother is someone “who will always and forever be our inspiration and motivation to be the best person we can, for we will be the reflection of her effort and hard work over the years. We dedicate all our success to our parents who gave us unending support in every step and decisions we made in our life.”
As Ma’am Rose moves towards a new chapter in her life, now away from the papers and the signatures, the impact that she left upon the lives of her “pseudo-children,” to the milestones established by the organizations under her care, and with the inspiration she had sparked among her own children, Mama Rose will always be our epitome of what a true queen and a great leader is.
She will always be more than “strong and brave in many different ways” because she had instilled in us to be “strong and brave in many different ways” and in our own unique ways as well.
