Lola, 68, finishes criminology course

DAGUPAN CITY – She finished high school in 1965. It took her 45 years to go back to school and pursue a bachelor’s degree.

Ma. Sabina Calica-Borgeaud wowed the crowd last week when she marched to the stage to receive her diploma as a graduate of Bachelor of Science in Criminology at the Lyceum Northwestern University (LNU) here.

Even at 68, Borgeaud had trained for several months in the Armed Forces, the Philippine Coast Guard and Air Force as a woman auxiliary on self-defense and first aid.

She is married to French pilot Frederic Louis. They have three children, seven grandchildren and one great grandchild.

She enrolled for only a few units of the course in LNU while she was still employed at the National Statistics Office (now

Philippine Statistics Authority) in Calasiao town.

Upon retirement as an administrative officer, she decided to be a full-time student.

Borgeaud was called “Madam” by her teachers, while her fellow students addressed her as Tita, Nanay, Mama Sita or Lola. She was also admired in school “for being the only student in Criminology who comes to the library almost every day.”

“I’m very happy, I have many friends in school,” she told The

STAR.

She was also not granted special attention, even as a senior citizen-student. She did her on-the-job training as a future police officer, manning the traffic and learning other skills, the way ordinary students would.

Borgeaud excelled in school and received grades as high as 95. However, she could not be awarded honors because there were semesters when she took only a few units.

She said her ability to speak English well gave her big advantage in school performance. She also speaks French, Spanish, Chavacano, Filipino and Bisaya.

When her graduation finally came, Borgeaud said she felt as if she “was in heaven, on top of the mountain.”

“I fought and had my victory at last,” she said.

But she said that she was also “nervous and felt cold I might slip and fall because I was wearing seven-inch high heels.”

Borgeaud said she plans to enroll this summer for a master’s degree in Public Administration.