Lolita San Diego Magsino was voted the recipient of this distinguished award for her many accomplishments and years of dedicated service to the Morong High School Alumni Association, Southern California Chapter. Starting as a coordinator for her Class ’57, teachers and fellow alumni, Lolit was elected to the board of directors, then chapter secretary. She held this position when the very first grand alumni reunion, hosted by the Northern California Chapter, was held in 1999. Her responsibilities included major coordination with out-of-state class coordinators, as well as with various committee members. The hard work that Lolit and everyone involved put forth resulted in about 500 attendees who came from all over the U.S., Canada, Australia and the Philippines. Notably, the grand reunion became an event that the MHSAA in the U.S. and Canada has adopted to hold every two years.
In 2002, Lolit was elected president of the Southern California Chapter. Her primary focus upon coming to the position was to register the Chapter with the State of California as a non-profit corporation, which was accomplished on February 14, 2003. She encouraged involvement by fellow alumni through seminars and workshops; established a book donation program in the different barangays and elementary schools in Morong and neighboring towns. The chapter also sponsored a health fair on the day of the grand alumni homecoming in April 2004. During her tenure, a scholarship program was re-established for deserving students of the Laboratory High School (now Morong High School) under the University of Rizal System. In addition, Lolit and her fellow officers supported the promotion of the book, “Morong High School: A Living Legacy”, written by Dr. Avelina Teston-Llagas, with proceeds to benefit the Teachers’ Education Scholarship Program (TESP).
With a degree in Bachelor of Science in Chemistry at Centro Escolar University, Lolit was awarded a Chemistry Scholarship Grant at the University of the Philippines towards Master of Arts in Teaching Chemistry, under the sponsorship of Shell Refining Company of the Philippines. Her continuing education consisted of seminars and workshops sponsored by the Bureau of Public Schools, University of the Philippines, University of Sto. Tomas, UNESCO, and the National Science Development Board. She was instrumental in the writing of Science Curriculum Guide and also the Guide for Teaching Chemistry that were used in public secondary schools in the Philippines. She taught science and chemistry in Morong High School for 15 years and had the distinct privilege of teaching science with Marya Pettit, a US Peace Corps volunteer. She also served as secretary and treasurer of the MHS Faculty Club, participating at meetings with the Bureau of Public Schools and provincial government officials for wage hike and allowances. She taught College Chemistry at TCMC and was acting head of the Science Dept. of Morong High School prior to leaving for the U.S. in 1979.
For the past 27 years, Lolit has been employed in the regional office of Kaiser Permanente, and is a Lead Reimbursement Processor. She is married to Crispin Magsino, employed by Kaiser Permanente Medical Group in Los Angeles. They have two daughters: Lelainee, a graduate of Cal State-LA, a full time piano teacher for her LGM Music Studio, and Luella, a graduate of University of Southern California, working as a quality engineer with Earthlink.