Inspiring story: A Filipina who raised from slums will be Utah Valley University’s new President

Astrid S. Tuminez, photo from deseretnews.com

The story of Astrid S. Tuminez life is truly inspiring story of a Filipina that started with nothing now is the very first woman and pinnacle leader of the renowned Utah Valley University (UVU).

UVU is the largest public university in the state of Utah. It serves around 37,200 students and is one of the very few universities that offers the dual-mission model, which is rigorous university lessons with a community college’s vocational programs.

And it was to Tuminez’s surprise to actually be unanimously voted as the seventh president of UVU. She stated that,

"I'm dazed and amazed, and I want to thank all of you.”

Paige Holland, left, hands Astrid S. Tuminez a bouquet of flowers at the board of regents meeting where she is introduced as the seventh president of Utah Valley University in Orem on Friday, April 20, 2018.

Based on the words of the chairman of the Board of Regents of UVU, Daniel W. Campwell, he stated that,

“Dr. Tuminez has proven to be a dynamic leader across academic, nonprofit, public policy and corporate sectors. Throughout her storied career, she has focused on bridging gaps in education and opportunity to make a difference in people’s lives, which seamlessly aligns with UVU’s institutional mission and core themes.”

Astrid S. Tuminez has her picture taken with students and staff at the board of regents meeting where she is introduced as the seventh president of Utah Valley University in Orem on Friday, April 20, 2018.

Tuminez graduated from Harvard University and the MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology). And other than being the regional director for corporate, external and legal affairs of Southeast Asia Microsoft, Tuminez’s ‘storied career’ that Campwell refers to so well is listed below:
Vice Dean of research of Lee Kuan Yew School at Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore

Assistant Dean of Executive Education at Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore

Senior consultant to the U.S. Institute of Peace

Director of research at AIG Global Investment

Program officer at Carnegie Corp. of New York

Manager of the Moscow office of the Harvard Project on Strengthening Democratic Institutions

But will you expect that Tuminez who has achieved so much in her life came from a parentless family of six, one who was raised by her 15-year old sister after their mother left when Tuminez was 5-years old. She was the first to graduate college in their family and she became a US citizen after emigrating in 1982.

Tuminez actually narrated her inspiring story below,

"I was raised in the slums of the Philippines and I was 5 years old when Catholic nuns offered me and my siblings a chance to go to school. So that changed the entire trajectory of my life, and that's what makes it so exciting for me to be in a university like UVU."

"This is a university that believes in the innate dreams and capacities of people and to build on that, to help each person make their own way but give them the skills and competencies so their chances of succeeding in life and having a good life are a bit better."

Apparently education was the key to success in Tuminez life.

On another note, it was Tuminez’s friend that gave introduced her to the UVU’s presidential opening.
"I was really intrigued by type of education that is being done here, the dual mission, which I thought was bold and experimental and also, really the right kind of approach in the 21st century. It addresses inclusion in a big way at a time when the world and societies are polarized and socio-economic differences are becoming bigger and bigger," she stated.

Tuminez’s election wouldn’t be made possible without the former president of UVU, Matthew Holland’s resignation which was due to his religious calling as the Mormon president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Thus with such an opportunity, Tuminez vowed uphold honor for the reputation that Holland created at UVU