An educator by heart; an educator with a heart.
These best describe one of our school’s greatest alumni, Dr. Elita Flor Umali.
Upholding the Holy Cross College core values Fides, Caritas, and Libertas, she stood the test of times educating the youth, teaching the word of God, and helping the community.
Dr. Elita Flor Umali, known as Ma’am Elit, is one of the many proud alumni of the school with a heart. In 1952, she graduated as her batch salutatorian at HCA.
Ma’am Elit hails from San Joaquin, Sta. Ana, but her contributions to the education landscape have reached far beyond the town. Proof of this is how she fought for the creation of the City of San Fernando’s own school division.
Since 1908, education in the City had been under the Schools Division of Pampanga. But after San Fernando’s recognition as a component city of the province in 2002, Ma’am Elit advocated for the establishment of the City Schools Division of San Fernando, as a response to the growing demand in education. For her, the creation of this new division opened up new opportunities for students and educators alike.
Several years before this, she was already named an outstanding Kapampangan. In 1997, she was a recipient of one of the most prestigious awards in the province, the Most Outstanding Kapampangan Award. She was recognized as a distinguished educator.
Outside schools, Ma’am Elit is also an active Catholic leader. She participates actively in different eucharistic celebrations, like mass, novena, rosary and catechism. Ma’am Elit is the corporate secretary of Domus Pastorum, Bale Pari, City of San Fernando, Pampanga. She was also the President of the Parish Pastoral Council for ten (10) years. Living by the core value of HCC, Fides (Faith), she was also a Papal Awardee in 1997.
Ma’am Elit is past her retirement age, but she continues to work for and support community and Catholic activities, especially those initiated by her alma mater.
She is a member of different socio-civic organizations in the province, like the Save Pampanga Movement, an organization that reached out to victims of the Mt. Pinatubo eruption and the lahar flows that followed after the disaster. She is also a member of the Girl Scout of the Philippines, as well as a part of the Foundation for Lingap Kapampangan, Inc., a non-profit organization that aids people with disabilities.
As the Pampanga Schools Superintendent in 2011, she adopted a class of students who are hard of hearing in a public school in the City of San Fernando. This opened opportunities for differently-abled students.
To give back to her alma mater, Ma’am Elit is now leading Crucians to a life of faith by spreading the word of God in a series of virtual catechisms of Holy Cross College.
For her invaluable contributions to the school with a heart, Ma’am Elit was recognized as one of HCC’s Most Outstanding Alumni in Education. She was also tapped to serve as the treasurer of HCC’s Board of Directors.
“As alumni, I am extra grateful for the … Catholic education [at HCC]. Such foundation had prepared me [for] my total development of four H: the head, the heart, the hands and above all health,” she said in an interview.
“I was developed into becoming not only a good citizen of the country but also a good child of God. From then on, my life has been stable because of my strong foundation from Holy Cross College,” Umali shared.
Now, she goes on to make HCC’s quality Catholic education even stronger through her leadership, commitment and good examples to her fellow Crucians.