When people hear the word sorority, a certain picture comes to mind. Parties, sosyalan, a circle of friends that closes behind you. Some of us have had to answer for that picture, and it never told the whole story.

Chris Rola McKernan (’94), now the Consul General of the Philippines in Istanbul, Türkiye, is one answer to it. On the eve of this year’s UPLB Loyalty Day and Homecoming, she received two College Distinguished Alumni Awards at a special ceremony. In her talk there, she was the first to say she enjoyed her youth. “I am the epitome of the saying ‘Youth is wasted on the young,’” she told the audience, and with a chuckle: “I enjoyed the early part of college very much.” But she was lucky, she said, to have many people who stepped up and guided her, some of whom she greeted that day. One of the first voices of reason was Dr. Mimosa Cortez-Ocampo ‘63. Her “Tita Mimi,” a sister, a UPLB faculty member and her father’s dear friend and colleague, reminded her to put her studies ahead of extracurricular pursuits. That guidance gave the good times a direction.

She spoke about who made this possible: the people who guide us, and the people we guide in turn. Ask yourself, “Who are those within your reach that can tell you honestly how things are and how they ought to be?” Then “be intentional in finding your own proteges. Seek them out.” Drawing on Angela Duckworth’s Situated, she described a healthy circle as a mix of mentors for a reason, for a season, and for life. Her own path shows how that works. When she was appointed to take the helm of the Philippine Consulate General, two of the first people she called for advice were sorority sisters in the Foreign Service: one a twice-appointed Ambassador, now retired, and the other a twice-appointed Consul General who is still in the career service.

She has paid that forward. She has tried to empower, “in my own little way,” members of the Filipino diaspora, overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), scholars, athletes, artists and young people, and she helps them get situated. But she did not stop at what she has done. “I think we should focus instead on what more can be done,” she said, and asked how one contributes to meaningful change for our people, “most especially women and girls.”

Sisterhood is a natural place to take that question further. The promise of Sigma Delta Phi is to be guided by sisterhood and to embrace every dawn and dusk. A sister a few steps ahead turns around and helps the next one find her footing.

Our sisters work in medicine, finance, education, government, the arts and beyond, in the Philippines and in other countries. Many are well placed to offer mentorship, guidance or whatever help a younger sister needs. We are looking at how to bring that experience together more deliberately, so a young sister never has to wonder who to ask.

For now, Chris left us a small assignment: “Provide that enabling environment for others to live their best lives and also to uplift others.”

About the Awards

Chris received two 2026 College Distinguished Alumni Awards from UPLB: one from the College of Economics and Management, for International Relations and Women Empowerment, and one from the College of Public Affairs and Development, for Global Public Affairs. Both were conferred at a special awarding ceremony on October 9, 2026, the eve of UPLB Loyalty Day and Alumni Homecoming. The back-to-back conferment of these two awards was said to be unprecedented for UPLB.

Her talk, “Instilling a Developmental Mindset in our Leaders-in-Waiting,” followed this year’s theme, “Ugnayang Alumni Tungo sa Makabuluhang Pagbabago at Kaunlaran.” Chris also holds the distinction of being the first-ever graduate of the UPLB Master in Public Affairs program majoring in Local Governance and Development. Completing the degree by November 2001, she is not only a double awardee but also a silver jubilarian during the 2026 homecoming program.

Thanks and credits

With thanks to the University of the Philippines Los Baños, the UPLB Alumni Association, the UPLB College of Public Affairs and Development and the UPLB Office of Alumni Relations. Event video coverage and editing by Auburn Horizons Digital Marketing.

Want to see more of the day? Watch UPLB’s coverage of the event:
video (https://www.facebook.com/share/v/19veKCrFyH/), and
post (https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1Eyq9PYCm8/).

The idea of mentors for a reason, for a season and for life comes from Angela Duckworth’s Situated, as described in a LinkedIn post by Leanna Fenneberg (https://www.linkedin.com/posts/leannafenneberg_mentorship-leadership-highereducation-share-7504666668166725632-bDoy/), Ph.D., Senior Vice President for Student Life at Duquesne University, on September 13, 2026, which Chris used as a reference for her talk. Chris also drew on the Masters of Scale episode “Grit scaling with Angela Duckworth.”