Filipino teacher cited anew for outstanding work in the US

Roditha Fuentes Terado (in black skirt) receiving her award

by Susan Palmes-Dennis

A Filipino teacher based in North Carolina is a recipient of the Ulirang Guro 2018 award given by the United Federation of Fil-Am Educators (UNIFFIED) in simple ceremonies held at Washington DC last May 26, 2018.

Roditha Fuentes Terado, a native of Tacloban, Leyte province in the Philippines, received the UNIFFIED award nearly a year after she was also cited as one of the outstanding teachers in the Carolinas by the Filipino-American Community of the Carolinas Inc. (FACC).

The United Federation of Fil-Am Educators or UNIFFIED is an organization with chapters all over the US and abroad comprised of teachers, educators and professionals.

The group is committed to promoting excellence in teaching and providing community services through projects that will benefit the communities in the US and the Philippines.  

UNIFFIED awardees are noted for their exemplary literary or artistic talents. When she was cited as an outstanding teacher awardee by the FACC, Terado said she loves teaching because it  is both challenging and awesome. 

“Because you deal with multi-diverse students, a multicultural community and a different educational system,” she said. Terado credits her teaching stint in the US for making her a better person and expanding her perspective in life.

To be a good teacher, Terado said one must be strong, tough and consistent with one's rules and procedures. She said she is trying to be the best version of herself. 

Terado said her passion for problem solving enhanced her passion for imparting her knowledge to the students.

“That way I can make a difference and be a catalyst of change because I believe that I am teaching the country's next generation of engineers, scientists, doctors and teachers,” she said.

When not teaching, Terado finds work as a civil engineer and she has a deep interest in structural engineering.

She's also into cooking Filipino delicacies and is making a name for herself in cooking “ puto (rice cake), biko (sweetened sticky rice), suman, pancit, lumpia, adobo and other Pinoy food. 

Terado teaches at the Harding University High School and has 20 years of teaching experience, a decade of which was spent at Philippine Science High School and Eastern Visayas State University. 

She attended school at Divine Word University and Eastern Visayas State University.