03/07/2025
๐ฆ๐ต๐ฒ ๐ช๐ต๐ผ ๐ ๐ผ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐
๐ฐ ๐๐ถ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐๐ฐ๐ด๐ฆ ๐๐ข๐ฃ๐ด๐ช๐ญ๐ช๐ค๐ข
In a quiet corner of the Jose Rizal Memorial State University - Siocon Campus stands a towering Narra tree. Its roots deep, its branches wide, and has lived decades. If you ask the long-serving faculty or the newly appointed staff what it reminds them of, many will smile and answer the same way,
โMaโam Chona.โ
Not because she planted that tree, but because she has become that tree. A woman who is deeply rooted in service, branching into the lives of many, and casting a legacy that offers shade, strength, and shelter to those beneath it.
Dr. Chona Febrera Torrefrancaโs name echoes in the halls of JRMSU-SC, not just because of the titles she held, but because of the way she carried them. Over 41 years of government service, she has moved through the educational ladder โ from faculty, to assistant dean, to dean, and to campus administrator and director.
But her true impact was never limited to what was on paper. She became a force of mentorship, vision, and leadership that shaped not just institutional structures, but human lives. Lives like mere individuals, once unsure of their footing, who now stand tall because of the faith she placed in them.
During Ms. Gemma Shrine Pesidas's message for her during the retirement program, she shared a glimpse of a message Dr. Torrefranca sent privately to her:
โJust do your work with honesty, dedication, and commitment. Know the laws to protect yourself. No one can put a good man down.โ
These words were more than advice โ they were the roots she planted in all of the people she once shared life.
For many, she was the reason a dream became a reality. Under her term, 36 appointees were given a more secure future โ including administrative officers, assistants, instructors, and even an accountant. She didnโt just sign papers, she opened doors of opportunity. One by one; with wisdom, trust, and courage.
She believed in people even before they believed in themselves. And that, perhaps, is her most enduring skill. The ability to see potential where others saw problems, to lift others as she climbed, and to quietly light torches in the lives of many.
โSayang, you never married?โ
During a recent Womenโs Month program, she shared that someone playfully asked her this. A valid question, considering her timeless beauty and undeniable charisma. With the kind of humor only women of deep wisdom possess, she smiled and replied,
โIt was never a waste. Itโs been more than worth it.โ
In Ms. Pesidas's message, she perfectly uttered what most of our hearts already know: she became a mother in the most profound sense. She may not have raised children in the traditional sense, but she has mentored generations.
Her โfamilyโ includes the students who became professionals, the colleagues she helped grow, and the many she inspired. She mothered the fearful into courage. She mothered the uncertain into purpose. She mothered the JRMSU-SC โ not through blood, but through belief.
Retirement may be knocking at her door, but it does not feel like an ending. It feels like a legacy sealed. Itโs not the buildings she helped build that will outlast her term โ it's the people she believed in, empowered, and challenged to do more. Itโs the small gestures, the life-changing decisions, and the constant whisper of,
โYou can.โ
And long after she leaves her office, her presence will linger โ in the appointments she approved, the students she shaped, and the culture of compassion she effortlessly lived. In the years to come, when people ask who made the biggest difference, they'll smile and say,
โThat was Maโam Chona. She didnโt just serve. She made us better.โ
And when a new student passes by that Narra tree on campus โ Standing tall, unshaken, and full of life. They might not know her name at first. But the shade theyโll feel, the ground theyโll stand on, the strength in the air โ will all be hers.
Because trees like her never really leave. They simply root themselves in the lives of others, and keep growing from within.
