Celebrating a Life of Service and a Life Fulfilled - Dr. Atilio Alicio

CTFLC HONORS DR. ATILIO V. ALICIO 

Celebrating a Life of Service and a Life Fulfilled 

By: Salvador S. Idos 

Dr. Atilio V. Alicio, an icon in the academia and a notable community leader,  retires from UCSD and SDSU after 50 years of dedicated and fruitful service to the  youth and language learners. 

In honor of Dr. Alicio’s remarkable career, the Council for Teaching Filipino  Language and Culture (CTFLC ) headed by its President, Farah Mendoza along with  the designated various committees and members, tendered a truly joyous and  spirit-filled retirement celebration cum program at the Bay Terraces Community  and Senior Center, San Diego, on Feb. 25, 2023. 

Dr. Alicio, fondly called “Tily” by people close to him, is a native of Cataingan,  Masbate, the southernmost part of the Bicol Region. He belongs to a family of  teachers whose both parents and three sisters started to work in the field of  education. 

Dr. Alicio obtained his Ph.D. degree in Modern Language Studies from the  Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia where he taught Spanish for 7 years. He  holdsthe distinction of being the first Filipino to successfully earn a doctorate from  the aforementioned university. He is a has two Master’s degrees, one in Spanish  from the Instituto de Cultura Hispánica de Madrid, and the other in General  Education from the Lyceum of the Philippines University. His Bachelor’s degree is  in Spanish which he earned from the Colegio de San Juan de Letrán in Manila.  

In the fifty years of teaching at the tertiary level, he got himself connected  with several institutions of higher education. He taught at the Universiti Malaya,  University of the Philippines Manila, Lyceum of the Philippines University, Defense  Language Institute Foreign Language Center in Monterey, California, Beverly Hills  Lingual Institute, California State University Long Beach, University of California San  Diego, and San Diego State University. He started teaching Filipino under the Heritage Language Program at UCSD in Fall 2005, and in Fall 2006 he taught Elementary and Intermediate Filipino at SDSU, thereby having spent 17 years of his  professional career in San Diego. 

Since Dr. Alicio moved to San Diego, he has been one of the pillars in the  phenomenal growth of the Filipino Language Program in San Diego County. One of  the difficult challenges facing the Filipino Language Program is providing a steady  stream of qualified teachers to ensure that the program is sustainable. To attract  and assist those wanting to teach Filipino, Dr. Alicio volunteered to be a  Facilitator/Moderator of the Review sessions to prepare aspirantsfor the California Subject Examinations for Teachers (CSET), a significant step towards obtaining a  teaching credential in California. In addition, Dr. Alicio contributed in preparing  CSET:Filipino test materials in General Linguistics and Linguistics of the Target  Language. As a Member of the Board of Directors and through his valued support,  assistance, and continued guidance, CTFLC has evolved into a potent and highly  effective professional organization whose presence is felt not only in the  professional field but also in the community.  

Prior to his coming to the United States, he spent 11 years of his professional  life in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. While in Kuala Lumpur and working under the  umbrella of the archdiocese, he was the Adviser of the Filipino Services Secretariat,  a Migrants’ Ministry under the Office of the National Office of Human Development  (NOHD) whose main goal was to provide pastoral care and related  labor/employment matters to Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs). To assist these migrants, the Ministry, in collaboration with the Embassy of the Philippines in KL, provided counselling, legal assistance, advocacy, education, and embarked on cultural and social activities.  

He is the author of Learn Filipino; Language Phrases in English, Bahasa Melayu, Filipino, Spanish; Multilingual Idioms; Estructura del Verbo Español;  Español Advanzado; Elementary Filipino: Learning Language and Culture; and Filipino Course Readers for UCSD, SDSU, and the Filipino School. He has written  numerous articles on varied topics for the Philippine magazine LIFE TODAY (1995- 2015).  

Through all the years of his active engagement in academic, church and  community activities, Dr. Alicio was a participant in varied roles: guest and keynote  speaker, presenter, delegate, panelist, facilitator, translator, interpreter, reviewer,  adviser, OPI tester, or officer and member of various organizations. Whatever he  does, he gives it his all. 

Dr. Alicio is a recipient of numerous awards and recognition. For his services  to the OFWs in Malaysia, the Philippine Government, with the endorsement of the  Philippine Embassy in KL, conferred upon him the Presidential Award, the Bagong  Bayani Award in 1999. His alma mater, the Lyceum of the Philippines University awarded him the Most Outstanding Alumni Award 2001 for his long and dedicated  service as a Spanish Professor. The Knights of Columbus Council 1327 in Los Angeles honored him as the Most Outstanding Knight in 2003. Perhaps the greatest reward  of Dr. Alicio for his long and dedicated service to the youth and to humanity is  something intangible. It is referred to by some as a psychic income of teachers for  a job well done. The reward is that he has earned a lifelong love and respect of his  students, colleagues, and everyone whose life he has touched.  

Dr. Alicio is a person with a gentle soul. He is humble and joyful, somebody  you would like to be with. He takes on his responsibilities seriously; however, he  does not take himself too seriously. He is blest with a pleasant sense of humor  which brings delight to his students, friends, and everyone.  

In his retirement speech, he shared his philosophy of teaching which is lofty  and profound. He believes that to teach is to have a passion, a missionary zeal to  help transform the lives of students for them to realize their fullest potential and  become productive members of society. To him, teaching is more than just an  occupation to earn a living. It is Ministry, giving a teacher the chance to Love his  students so that his students would learn how to Love in return. He likened life to  that of a lighted candle. As the candle is consumed, it provides light to a darkened  environment. What a powerful imagery! The life of Dr. Alicio is indeed a life of  service to others. 

In concluding his sharing, Dr. Alicio expressed his “taos-puso at walang  katapusang pasasalamat” for the grand honor, best wishes, presence, gifts,  outpouring support, generosity, care, and L.O.V.E. to Kapamilyang CTFLC whom he  regards as hissecond family and for being a part of this milestone in his life, thereby making his journey so special and memorable. 

Dr. Alicio is married to Carmencita Monfero, a BSEEd graduate of Arellano  University in Manila and a LAUSD retired school teacher. They are blest with three  children: Maria Carmen, Maria Theresa, and Jose Rey. They have four  grandchildren: Anthony, Angelo, Danica Jewel, and Lara Amber.