HOLDER OF FIVE DEGREES

BINMALEY—From selling pan de sal, veggies and fruits, a 76- year old grandmother recently made history by becoming the oldest among the 1,939 graduates of the Pangasinan State University (PSU) of Batch 2016.

Leonora Santos-Leeds was understandably the proudest graduate during the university’s recognition day at the Narciso Ramos Gymnasium in Lingayen town last week.

For her feat, she was cited for being an inspiration for continuously studying even after obtaining four degrees. Her degree in Bachelor of Science in Nutrition and Dietetics was her fifth!

“I am 76 but I am young at heart,” Mrs. Leeds told The PUNCH in her rented apartment here. She said she religiously did her homework and assignments, expecting no special attention or treatment from her teachers and classmates.

Her classmates and teachers invariably addressed her as Lola or Auntie or Mommy, Ma’am, Doc and Mrs. Leeds. She said she didn’t mind for as long as they were comfortable with it.

After all, she is a registered nurse in England, then earned her degrees in Management and Supervisory in England, too. She earned her degree in Doctor of Medicine at the Virgen Milagrosa University in San Carlos City in 2011. (She even took a secretarial course in England).

Her husband, Mark Leeds, 82, flew in from London to be able to witness her latest graduation. Mark still works in his gardening business in London to help support his wife in the university.

Mark and Leonora met each other in London and married in church in 1982. Leonora said he comes home every year without fail since 1992.

“I felt very proud,” Mark said during his wife’s graduation particularly when he saw how the crowd and the students, most especially, roared with applause when she received her special award.

He said he is happy his wife became an instant celebrity, being a favorite news subject of the local media after her graduation. He said they kept on receiving congratulatory text messages and calls.

“She has been a very great blessing to many students,” Mark added. He gifted her with a new cellular phone he bought in England for her latest graduation.

What was life like for Leonora before all these notable achievements?

When she was young, she could hardly study. Being raised by a single mom, at age 10 in Malabon, she had to get up early at 3:00 a.m. to sell hot pan de sal until 5:00 a.m. Then from 5:00 a.m. to 7:00 a.m. she would sell vegetables before rushing to her classes. Then at 7:00 a.m., she would hurry home to get herself ready for school.

When she was in high school, she pushed cart selling pineapple, melon and watermelon. Finally, after completing school, she decided to pursue higher education whenever the opportunity arose.

“It has been my attitude to finish what I had started,” she said.

Bigger mission

 Leonora said it has been her dream when she was young to help the poor and the elderly people. “Most of them do not have their homes unlike in England where they have their own homes (for the elderly),” she said.

She plans to put up a foundation to benefit the elderly “and make them productive and be happy with what they are doing for themselves”.

To do it, Leonora said she hopes to establish a business whose profits would be used to help the senior citizens, and to support the poor but deserving students who want to finish their studies but could not do so because of poverty.

“At my age I already have my pension. I don’t need money anymore for myself but I want to work for them,” she said and she’s praying hard she would fulfill her dream.

She flew to England on June 29 for a vacation with her husband. (Tita Roces)

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