Last September 20, 2016 (Tuesday), Senator Joel “Tesdaman” Villaneuva went home to the University of Santo Tomas, with a courtesy call to the Rector, the Very Rev. Fr. Herminio V. Dagohoy, O.P., PhD and a pep talk to the present-day Growling Tigers.
After the courtesy call, Villanueva revealed that he presented to the Rector the needed legislative reforms for education, in light of the recent national and international changes in education. He likewise mentioned that the Rector invited him to be active in the recently formed Thomasian Alliance of Legislators, Alumni, and Students (TALAS), in order to allow the University to have a role in policy formulation.
The meeting with the Rector was followed by a trip to the Quadricentennial Pavilion, the new lair of the Growling Tigers, of which Villanueva was a part in his college days. After meeting with officials from the Institute of Physical Education and Athletics, led by Rev. Fr. Ermito G. de Sagon, O.P., the Senator met with the UST Growling Tigers, led by Louie Philippe Vigil, and called on them to go into every game with the intent of winning—no excuses. He called for better teamwork and to avoid over-zealousness, in order to maintain focus. He reassured the Tigers of his unconditional support to the team.
Villanueva is an alumnus of the Junior High School and the College of Commerce and Business Administration, and was a Growling Tiger himself, part of the mid-1990s cohort.
