To Walk Forward: A Lookback with Fr. Ben Nebres, SJ and Fr. Ting Samson, SJ

Few have been able to witness the Ateneo's history as the institution it is today, and even fewer have been part of shaping its legacy through the past decades. Fr. Ben Nebres, SJ and Fr. Antonio “Ting” Samson, SJ are two such rare individuals. Now celebrating their golden jubilee in service after their ordination as Jesuit Priests in 1973, the School of Science and Engineering (SOSE), in cooperation with the Departments of Chemistry and Mathematics, has gathered the Atenean community for “Balik-Tanaw” to pause and listen to their stories on the academic development and social involvement of the Ateneo through the decades.

Fr. Ting’s & Fr. Ben’s Memories of Ateneo

Fr. Ting was in his second year of high school when Ateneo moved to the Loyola Heights campus. He was able to see how small Ateneo was then when he finished high school in 1954, then college in 1958 with a total of 92 graduates, and even later saw the shift of the Ateneo to welcome female students by becoming a co-ed school in 1973. The institution’s focus then was on the high school, Ateneo as a university getting bigger as a college came later, becoming a university in 1959.

Fr. Ben himself had never studied in Ateneo, graduating with a degree in Philosophy from Cebu, and his MS and PhD in Mathematics in Stanford University. But in his time in Ateneo, he has pushed forward Mathematics education in the country leaps ahead. He recalls their vision in 1970 to develop a strong ecosystem of post-graduate programs in the Philippines, because at the time, there were only two PhD programs in math. He recounted the challenges of ensuring that students studied full-time and building a reliable network to give them opportunities to work on their thesis abroad.

However, it wasn’t only academics that they both had to handle. Throughout all this, they had to go through the Filipinization of the university during the tumultuous times of the Martial Law era. Influenced by liberation theology, their priority then was to make sure that students and faculty are immersed in Filipino communities and Ateneans are involved with the poor, leading to the establishment of the Office for Social Concern and Involvement. Contrasting a misconception about the university’s history that only talks about the oppression of ML, Fr. Ben remarks that instead they were preoccupied with developing the university’s academics and following Arrupe’s call of men and women for others.

Stepping Forward

When asked what they reflect on what the university should do moving forward in both its academics and social involvement, they highlight three key things:

The first is a reminder on what the Ateneo’s identity is as a university through its history. Fr. Ben notes the importance the university places on international university rankings. He reminds that Ateneo’s values as a Jesuit institution isn’t focused on research, which is the biggest component of these rankings, but more importantly the formative years of all of its students. Formation is collective, and faculty have to care for their members. “I worry that if we push this way, we'll lose the essence of Ateneo education,” he ends.

The second is a call to continue their efforts in getting Ateneans down from the hill. The university was able to establish programs involving Ateneans with the poor. However, compared to before, the social gap in Philippine society is not as immense, and an unintended consequence of this is that more and more families are choosing to leave the country. Fr. Ben urged that, “we have to find a way for our students to love our country and our poor.”

The third strengthens the roots of Ateneo as a Jesuit institution. Fr. Ting noted how there have been fewer and fewer Jesuits in the university, and asked “how do we maintain what we feel is important in Jesuit education if there are no Jesuits?” Forming more Jesuits is what we want, but Fr. Ting says that the faculty, as lay people, are instrumental in a more positive way of making it happen. He urges that each student must be formed as the unique Atenean that they are, just as Ignatius experienced that God was dealing with him personally.

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Text: Harvey Felipe

Photos: ARISE

Header Photo: Christiane Oriana