Prof. Melody Tumanan, an English Professor of the College of Arts and Sciences-SLUC, is awarded as Scholarship Coordinator of the Year by DOST-Region 1 on February 24, 2021.

As a Scholarship Coordinator for three years now, Ma’am Meloy as she is commonly called, has been serving more or less 800 student-recipients of various scholarships and about 3,000 recipients of Free Higher Education (FHE) at the South La Union Campus.

When asked about her experience being a Scholarship Coordinator, she heartily shared the inspiration she gets from serving students:“Actually ako po ang na-inspire when I started serving as a scholarship coordinator kasi nakita ko ‘yung perseverance ng mga students natin to finish college kahit na economically hirap sila. Nakita ko kung gaano kalaki ang naitutulong ng mga scholarship at grants na galing sa iba’t-ibang government agencies. Kahit gaano pa kakonti ‘yung natatanggap nila masaya na sila. Kahit ngayong free tuition and miscellaneous fees tayo madami pa rin sa mga students natin ang hirap na tustusan ‘yung ‘other educational expenses’ nila lalo na ngayong blended learning tayo, marami ang nahihirapan sa load. Kaya natutuwa ako pag nakaka-receive na sila ng allowance.

”Ms. Korina M. Dy, a staff in the Scholarship Office and who witnesses the hardwork of Ma’am Meloy every day, describes Ma’am Meloy as very much devoted to her work, strict in a good way, and very motherly – traits most needed in her designation that requires her to patiently communicate with a great number of students.

Ma’am Meloy who is reluctant about her being featured shares her award with her fellow Scholarship Coordinators in the University namely, Ms. Remedios Maja Cacanindin of OUS, Ms. Angelita S. Domondon who used to serve as Scholarship Coordinator in MLUC, and Dr. Sherlyn D. Nitura of NLUC.

“I know the difficulty of the nature of their work and I, too, salute them for their commitment to serving our students,” Ma’am Meloy remarked.