Latte Buhat on earning her stripes and opening doors in leadership in public health

​Lorilyn Buhat, MD, MBA (PhD LEADS ’24) is the very definition of a multi-hyphenate. A mother of three, a teacher, a nurse, a midwife, a medical doctor, and a public health servant, Lorilyn—or Latte, as she is known to the people closest to her—embarked on her PhD journey with a few goals in mind: to satisfy her constant desire for learning, to improve her craft, and to serve a deeper and bigger purpose. 

A graduate of UP Manila, Latte entered the Ateneo School of Medicine and Public Health in 2013 to become a doctor. “What jumpstarted my choice to becoming a doctor? I always wanted to become [one],” she says simply. “But we all know that want does not necessarily convert to will.” It was during her stint as a midwifery student and intern that her conviction to become a doctor grew even stronger.  

“At the time, I was working within the context of public health. I loved it. I was mesmerized by the multitude of things that I can offer, that I can do for the community as a midwife, and I wanted to do more,” she says. “So I figured if I was going to become a doctor, it has to be within the realm and context of public health.”

Latte finished med school in 2018, and following graduation, she took a shot at residency. But the call to serve in public health became even louder; this time, she could no longer ignore or resist it. “I decided to go home, start a family, and do public health once and for all,” she says. “I initially worked as a municipal health officer in Pilar, Capiz, and I eventually transferred to the adjacent town of President Roxas, Capiz and served as the assistant municipal health officer.”

She was in that position from 2019 to 2022, and it was during this time that she found herself surrounded by leaders—all different and distinct from one another. “These were leaders who came in with different phenotypes, with different positions, and they come from diverse political affiliations. And I felt that there was more to leadership that I wanted to understand than just [being with different] leaders,” she says. 

Coming home

It was this that ultimately drew her to pursue her PhD in Leadership Studies. Back in 2013, as she was looking for schools to apply to for medicine, she wasn’t even aware that Ateneo offered programs in public health. This time, as she decided to take on her PhD, she instantly knew where to go. “Why did I choose to return to Ateneo? Actually, it was not a story of returning or choosing the school. It felt more like coming home,” she said.

“I wanted to know how can I better define leadership beyond just saying that it’s good or bad, that it’s effective or defective. Again, I wanted to know more. And at the same time, I wanted to earn my stripes while I still can.”

“What’s amazing about the LEADS program is that by the time that we were concluding our degrees, by the time that we were writing and doing our dissertation, we felt ready. We felt right. Precisely because we were prepared, we were harnessed, and we were mentored from day one. And they equipped us with a skill set, with the attitude and in my case, they equipped me with the vigor—not just to survive PhD but to actually finish strong. And that makes the difference.”

Her dissertation on adaptive leadership, entitled “Adaptive Leadership During Crisis: Experiences of Provincial Government Hospital Managers in the Global South,” was borne out of the desire to give frontliners of the Covid-19 pandemic—of which Latte was one herself—a voice. “The focus of my research was on middle managers because they were the unsung heroes of the frontlines during the COVID-19 era, and I wanted to tell their story,” she says.

No special treatment

In her journey to her PhD, Latte was juggling the demands of pregnancy and her day job. She even reported to class after delivery, surprising her classmates and professors. “I was not very vocal about being pregnant,” she says. “I didn’t want special treatment. I didn’t want them to ask me all the time, Can you do this? Is it okay for you? No. I wanted to play fairly. I wanted equal treatment for everyone.”

But she clarifies: it wasn’t just for compliance, or because she was afraid of the consequences of not coming to class. She reported to class, still, because she was anticipating feedback for her paper, and she didn’t want to miss the opportunity to know how else she can improve her paper.

“And I couldn’t miss that,” she says. 

For her, balancing motherhood, her studies, and her day job on top of it all was difficult, yes, but it wasn’t unpleasant. Instead, she saw it as a challenge she wanted to overcome. It was something that stimulated her mentally, and it taught her how to maximize her time, strengthened her character, and made her more grateful in the end.

“I was a frontliner,” Latte shares. “So whenever I was tired of school, whenever I was tired of schoolwork, I have the opportunity to do PhD pauses or neuron breaks whenever I do my patient rounds in quarantine centers. So I never saw it as a burden. The program and the people inside the program were not just my colleagues; they were not just my professors. They were my breath of fresh air, especially during the pandemic.”

“I entered PhD with eyes wide open,” she adds. “I’ve always been prepared to expect that it was going to get worse. It was going to get harder. I’ve always expected that. My mental state has always been, ‘Okay, this is hard, but you know what, tomorrow might be harder, so might as well survive today.’ It has never been a case of the PhD becoming a burden for me. It was a case of doing another thing on top of all the things that I was doing. Perhaps it’s just a matter of mindset.” 

The small moments

“One day,” Latte shares, “Fr Ben [Nebres SJ, former University President] came in and taught us about adaptive leadership. He told us, ‘Well, I’ve got news for you. Leadership is painful.’” This was one of the many memorable moments Latte experienced in her time as a PhD student. “How was I going to reconcile that? I was wanting to learn leadership and here he was, Fr Ben telling me that leadership is painful. [What I learned was] you have to find a way to convert that pain into something fruitful, into something beautiful,” Latte says. 

Another unforgettable moment in her time in Ateneo was the late Lino Rivera, former Vice President for Mission Integration, extending a helping hand when Latte’s hometown of Capiz was under floodwaters due to a typhoon. “He was my batchmate,” Latte says. “I didn’t even ask for help. But Sir Lino messaged me: ‘Latte, how are you?’ That very moment, I felt like, How come he knows? How come he knows? Then he said, ‘Don’t worry, Latte, help is on the way.’ And I was telling him, Sir Lino, how can I liquidate all of these? I am not so sure how I can tell you to whom I’ve given all these resources. And he said, ‘Well, Latte, your word is enough.’

Those small simple moments, the moments of actually beating the deadline, those moments resonate [with] you. It changes the way you see things. It changes your character,” Latte says.

But the most memorable, and what Latte will be missing the most, are the people. “We had a tribe,” she says. “It’s the people. It’s the tribe. The kind of tribe that you will always go home to. The kind of tribe that accepts you for who you are, the kind of tribe that offers you a safe space. And it’s not very common, especially for post-grad platforms. And it is this kind of tribe that I am graduating with. I am happy and I am blessed that I get to go home, I get to graduate, I get to finish with a kind of tribe that offers me friendship, that offers me confidence, trust.”

Opening doors

Now that she has completed her PhD in Leadership Studies, Latte only has the future to look to. “I’m excited to actually implement the things that I’ve learned,” she says. “I have one more year in [my] residency training program. By next year, I will be graduating and I will be going home to our province and home to public health.”

“I’m looking forward to turning this kind of privilege of education, friendships, and connections into purpose, into platforms which will not only open doors for structures, which will not only open doors for activities but will also open doors for people who are deserving of the same opportunity.”

“I am excited to hold out my hand to those people who are also excited to do what I get to do, who are also looking forward, who are also dreaming or planning to experience what I was able to experience. I guess if there’s one value that Ateneo ingrained in me, it’s the value of gratefulness.” 

“And it is only through passing on the kindness, it is only through passing on the opportunity that you are able to really show the kind of gratefulness that you have in your heart. And I’m excited to do that. I’m excited to open the doors for the next step of leadership.” ​

Photos courtesy of Latte Buhat