Laura Rica arrived in California
on August 1988 as one of the participants to the United States International
Education program. She attended graduate school at Boston
University where she was a Hubert
H. Humphrey Fellow. Her major fields of study were in International Business
and Advanced Economics. During her study year, she completed internships at
major US
corporations around the city of Boston
and attended seminars in Washington D.C.
and California.
Prior to her study year in the USA,
she graduated from the University of Asia and the
Pacific with a degree of Master of Arts (MA) in Business Economics. Her
technical paper was entitled "A Strategy for the Development of Regional
Telecommunications in the Philippines"
and her field was telecommunications.
After her studies at Boston
University were completed, she was
accepted to the Mason Program at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, and
then Harvard University
for further studies and a degree in Master of Public Administration. At the
same time, she was offered employment at the International Satellite
Organization (INTELSAT), a consortium of satellite providers. She decided to
accept the employment offer, defer her studies, and move to the metro area of Washington,
D.C. In March, 1990, she became a homeowner
in Springfield, Virginia.
Laura has traveled extensively as
a professional and has been to the following countries: Hong
Kong, Singapore,
Thailand, Malaysia,
Canada, and the
United Kingdom.
She has friends, from her Humphrey year and from working at INTELSAT, in 150
countries all over the world. She can also speak and/or write in the following
languages: English, Pilipino, Spanish, and German. Her racial descent and
upbringing is a combination of Asian and Western European, with her ancestors coming
from Spain, France,
and the Philippines.
In 1999, she co-authored Mother
and Sons, Poems and Essays and completed her memoir, A Tale of Survival, in
2000. She continues to live in Virginia
where she owns her own company, travels to foreign countries and the USA
to visit her family.
Victor Ronald Ibanez
Victor Ronald was born on February 27, 1974 under the zodiac
sign of Piesces and the Chinese sign of the Tiger. He
graduated from a private school for boys, Claret
School, with honors and was awarded
a government scholarship to the Philippine Science High School. He became a
member of his school’s Tae-kwon-do team that was being trained to compete in
the Philippine Olympics and gained his Red Belt in 1989.
In 1990, he came with his elder
brother and sisters to live in Virginia,
USA. He
continued his high school studies at Hayfield and transferred, finishing his
courses at Bryant High
School in Alexandria.
After completing his first two years of college at the Northern
Virginia Community College
in Annandale, he enrolled for
active duty in the US Marine Corps. He is now at his duty station in California.
Carlos Rodrigo Maglalang
Carlos Rodrigo was born on March 21, 1972 under the zodiac sign
of Aries and the Chinese sign of the Ox. He graduated Valedictorian from Claret
School. He was awarded a government
scholarship to the Philippine Science High School, where he graduated with
honors. He was accepted to the University of the Philippines
as an NSDB scholar in 1988.
In 1990, he came with his brother
and sisters to live in Virginia, USA.
He completed his degree in Business Management and majored in Information
Systems at the George Mason
University in 2000. He finished his
courses with a grade point average of 3.80, graduating Cum Laude by his college.
At present, he is working with Sprint Communications (USA) as an Analyst.
Winner of Poet of the Year award
3003 and Shakespeare Trophy for Excellence, Famous Poets Society (USA)