St. Scholastica’s College: Foresight

“Foresight,” says Sr. Mary Vincent Feliciano, OSB, vice president for administrative affairs of St. Scholastica’s College (SSC), Manila, when asked how the institution had managed not only to survive, but also to thrive for more than a century.

In 1906, responding to a call by the Benedictine Order’s Apostolic Delegate and the Archbishop of Manila to educate Filipino children, five German Missionary Benedictine Sisters left Tutzing, Bavaria to start a new life in Moriones, Tondo.

Initially, the “windowless wagon-shed” housed eight paying students and 50 non-paying scholars. “Serving the poor was already [our mandate] since the beginning.”

Named after St. Benedict’s twin sister, SSC Manila moved to San Marcelino, and in 1914, to Leon Guinto, where it stands to this day, with classes from kindergarten to graduate school.

Unlike stereotypical nuns cloistered in monasteries, these remarkable sisters have pursued master’s and doctorate degrees from top universities here and abroad, including online courses, not only in religious studies but also in accounting, educational administration and business management, to run more than a dozen schools around the country.

Evolve

“We prepare for change, we evolve.”

Such openness is apparent in policy. In the SSC board of trustees, for instance, the faculty and the students are represented to promote collegial decision-making.

“The Benedictine philosophy says that what you do, you do well. Apply whatever resources and gifts you have.”

Though a non-profit educational institution, SSC’s evolution is reminiscent of that of most family businesses. Just as founders rely primarily on gut-feel, so is the schools’ administrative talent was homegrown, at least at first.

“We designated as treasurer or finance heads our sister-teachers who had some feel for finance,” says Sr. Mary Vincent, who told the riveting story of a nun who saved the priory from bankruptcy decades ago by balancing budgets and essentially learning on the job.

“Now many of the younger sisters are trained, some with MBA. When they present financial reports, for example, we see the [professional] difference.”

The next generation members of family businesses are also often trained, with the requisite MBA, so that they can take the enterprise to the next level.

But the parallels stop here.

Many younger members in family businesses dislike hands-on work. They come to the office late and delegate duties to staff, often causing conflict with their elders who complain that their children do not share their work ethics.

Armed with foresight and training, SSC sisters plunge into their work, often literally. Take Sr. Constance Tecson, 50, whose skill in investments can rival that of a CFO, according to a banker who respects her business acumen.

A CPA, Sr. Constance is adept at finance and many other things.

When building renovations were ongoing, Sr. Constance taught herself plumbing, engineering, electrical systems. At night she even slept on the table on site, keeping watch over materials and processes. She shops for construction materials instead of merely relying on contractors’ estimates, resulting in huge savings for the priory.

Her counterpart in SSC Marikina, Sr. Celeste Licas, OSB, is as hands-on—personally shopping for tiles and other materials for the school, instead of outsourcing to contractors.

I witnessed Sr. Celeste’s willingness to learn first-hand years ago, when my son and I did a Singapore math workshop for students and parents. In the audience, paper and pen in hand, were Sr. Celeste and other colleagues.

“You can delegate tasks, but you have to know what’s happening,” says Sr. Constance. “If you are given a task, do your best.”

(Next week: Succession)