Dr. Penelope B. Bagobe On Leadership and LSJFi
She is not a boss that you follow around, but a leader you’ll look up to. Penelope B. Bagobe, Ed. D., is the fifth president of Liceo de San Jacinto Foundation Incorporated. She was inducted into the position on October 12, 2013. While interviewing her for this article, we realized that there’s more to her than what her titles say; her experiences speak as much.
Ma’am Bagobe became a part of the school in 1981 as a college instructor when Bachelor of Arts in Political Science was first offered in LSJFI. Back then, she told us, they were only paid 11 pesos per hour. The school wasn’t popular. The enrollment was very meager. It lacked facilities, too. It was a tough time, to say, but the school got by.
Fast-forward to 2006, she became the dean of the College of Education. Then, appointed by the board of trustees in 2013, she succeeded Atty. Isidro Merillo as the school’s president. According to her, she didn’t encounter hardships in her term as president because she went down to the level of her co-workers (colleagues) and never considered herself as a boss but as a leader. One of her unforgettable experiences while being in the position was when the CHED (Commission on Higher Education) personnel went to Liceo. She was handling four programs for the College of Education. We can only imagine the pressure she was in. The president described LSJFI’s nature as “very dynamic.” “It has grown a lot,” she said. “Before, the enrollees only ranged from 300 to 400, but now it’s over 1600… It had been successfully groomed.” How does she envision the school in the future? “It will still rise,” she replied with a smile. When asked on what she feels about descending from the position she had held for almost 8 years, she said that she’s happy and that she will pass everything she knows to her successor, Dr. Monina S. Moya. She expects the future runners of Liceo de San Jacinto Foundation Incorporated to continue what she had done. “Consider yourself as a leader, not a boss,” she advises. “Lead people, know how to sell, know how to tell and know how to participate.” [Wise words, madam.] She also addressed the current situation during the conversation. She remains positive and expressed good opinions on the COVID vaccines that are released all over the world. “Just pray,” she addressed the students who are braving academic difficulties despite the pandemic. “Trust that together we will have a normal life after this.”