Dr Vistro-Yu honored with Excellence and Service Award by Metrobank Foundation

We congratulate Dr Catherine P Vistro-Yu, Professor of the Department of Mathematics for being one of the awardees of the 5th Metrobank Foundation Award for Continuing Excellence and Service (ACES)!

This award is given to past recipients of the different recognition programs of Metrobank Foundation, Inc (MBFI) who, "after being recognized for their excellence, continue to make substantive and meaningful contributions to their chosen disciplines/professions." The ACES recognition was conferred to her on 29 February 2024 in a ceremony in Taguig during the 45th anniversary celebration of MBFI. This year, 32 awardees were honored.

Her 2024 ACES recognizes her primary role in developing the CHED GE course, Mathematics in the Modern World, which college students all over the country now take. This course aims to equip students with skills to think critically with mathematics as backdrop, giving them the means to appreciate mathematics and its contributions.

Dr Vistro-Yu is a well-respected resource person on matters relating to mathematics education, a stature that's fostered by her contributions to national and international conferences, as well as collaborations with various researchers including the many students who have been mentored by her through the years. Her fruitful work with national colleagues through the Philippine Council of Mathematics Teacher Educators (MATHTED), Inc and the Mathematical Society of the Philippines (MSP), and with international experts, primarily through the International Commission on Mathematical Instruction (ICMI), has brought prestige to the mathematics education field in the country. The forthcoming ICMI Study 27 Conference in January 2025 which will be hosted by our department is a result of Dr Vistro-Yu’s active participation in ICMI activities.

Back here in our local shores, she has been the Program Coordinator of the department's graduate programs in Mathematics Education. She has guided the programs from inception and through various changes, while also ensuring that students receive the needed guidance to become competent practitioners or researchers in mathematics education.

She finds it gratifying and humbling to be honored for her continued contributions many years after her previous recognition as one of Metrobank Foundation’s Outstanding Teachers in 2012. She believes that this award for continuing excellence and service validates the Ateneo tradition of excellence. She observes that

in Ateneo, excellence is what we do. And that’s what I try to do everyday. Likewise, as what the Jesuits profess, in everything, I try to love and serve the Lord.

She adds that this recognition will serve to inspire her and her family. We believe this will also inspire her colleagues and students to strive for excellence in service to others. We are very proud of Dr Vistro-Yu! Again, congratulations!