Antonio Ramil

Leonida M. Cortez
President, San Lorenzo Ruiz de Manila, Inc.

Born in Pozorrubio, and grew up in Mangaldan,
Pangasinan 70 years ago belonged to a poor and large
family, Nida struggled to get a college education
finishing her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University
of Pangasinan, Bachelor of Education from Rizal Memorial
Colleges, Davao City and MS in Special Education and
General Education from Touro College, NYC. Prior to
coming to United States in 1987 she was a classroom
teacher for twenty years and five years as a department
head at Tagaytay City High School, where she retired.
As an educator she was promoted as the first Master
Teacher I in Pangasinan, awarded as an Outstanding
Teacher in the Division of Cavite and Top Ten School
Adviser in the National Press Conferences in Iloilo,
Mindoro, Cavite and Metro Manila. She was chosen by

the USA Department of State as the representative of the Ministry of Education and Culture in
the Multinational Institute at the New York University, a program of the USIA.

For twenty-five years in the United States Nida has done so many things. She has strong belief
on the dignity of labor. She worked as a babysitter of Susan Cheever, a famous New York writer
and columnist. She featured her as the Modern Mary Poppin in her column in the Daily News. As
a peer educator of the Asian Pacific Islander Coalition for HIV/AIDS (APICHA) she advocates
awareness program, self defense for women, conducts workshops and seminars and holds
health fair. She was featured in the Daily News about her active involvement about these
deadly diseases. She also joined some advocates about immigration issues participating rallies
in front of the White House and she spoke in front of the United Nations for amnesty. A video
about Nida’s work showing Filipino culture and tradition was shown at the Queens TV channel.
Nida continued to qualify to the career she loves most, so she became a special education
teacher at the Grover Cleveland High School where she demonstrated her skills in classroom
management, her strong compassion for children and her dedication to the service thus making
her a demonstration teacher of the department.

Nida has been supporting the community, the church and the needy people in the Philippines.
Through her organizations, as president of the San Lorenzo Ruiz de Manila, Inc., the Our Lady of
Manaoag Society of America, the Pangasinan Association, Inc. and as a director of the Philippine
Independence Day Council, Inc. she has been supporting some projects like the Poverty
Alleviation Program of the Consulate General of the Philippines in New York, the Missionary Jesus
in Makati, the Quezon Institute, unwed mothers in some churches in Pangasinan and she
personally went to five municipalities in Pangasinan to distribute relief goods to the typhoon
Ondoy victims. At present she sponsors the putting up of a school library in an elementary school
in her hometown. As a director of the PIDCI, she has served as secretary for two years now,
chairman for the grand marshals for three years and chairman for the Independence mass. The
PIDCI is in charge of the Independence Day celebration in New York, the biggest celebration
outside the Philippines.

For her religious activities, she organized prayer meetings, supported the St. Francis de Sales
Church, St. Lucy Church and the San Lorenzo Chapel. She was one of the sponsors for the feast
day of San Lorenzo de Manila at St. Patrick Cathedral. She was awarded by the Archdiocese of
New York, the Century Award Services.

The greatest accomplishments for her is to able to raise and provide good education to her
seven children, namely Rodrigo, a nurse in Australia, Rosalyn, a radiologist in Singapore,
Rowena, a nurse in San Diego, Rochelle, a nurse in New York, Rainier, an employee at a hospital
in Virginia, Rayman and Reagan both work at Dulles Airport in Virginia. She ended her historic
journey as a teacher last year but her community and family involvement will never end.

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