Ask any Kellogg alum from the Philippines how “Tita Isabel” started, and they’ll all tell you the same thing: it wasn’t a grand gesture. It began, simply, with a phone number.
Tita Isabel Juan was teaching in the Psychology Department at Northwestern’s College of Arts and Sciences when friends’ children started enrolling at the university. Their parents would call her for advice, and word spread fast among worried families and homesick students: “call Tita Isabel”. She knew Evanston well, which doctors to trust, which neighborhoods felt safe, who to ask when something went wrong. For a student arriving alone in a new country, that made all the difference.
What began as advice turned into an open door.
When students ran into trouble with housing or roommates, Tita Isabel simply told them to stay with her. She already knew their parents. She also had the space to offer. Her home became known for a table that was always full. Students asked if they could bring a friend, sometimes classmates from Indonesia, and those friends became family too. Her late husband, Toti, was just as involved. Together, they turned Thanksgiving dinners into fixtures on the Filipino Kellogg calendar. They also made Easter celebrations and graduation parties lasting traditions. Eventually, no Filipino student arrived at NU without hearing the same instruction: don’t forget to call Tita Isabel.
“Looking back, I feel so blessed,” Tita Isabel said in an interview ahead of her tribute. “I truly enjoyed those times, and I would do it all over again without regret.”
On the evening of July 1, 2026, the community she built returned to say thank you. The Manila Golf Club filled with Kellogg alums from decades of graduating batches, their families, and their friends, all there for a woman most of them still call, without a second thought, Tita Isabel.
A Home Away from Home
The messages collected ahead of the tribute speak in strikingly similar terms. Francis Laurel, who entered Kellogg in 1970, wrote that in a new place where he knew no one, “Tita Isabel reminded us of home.”
Gion Fabella called her simply “the mother of all Kellogg Filipino students,” while Chicky Quintos, who calls her “the official ambassadress of NU,” remembered a graduation dinner Tita Isabel hosted for her entire class.
Mario and Frieda Fernandez, who arrived in Chicago in the middle of a 1977 blizzard, remembered her as “a mother and a big sister, not just to us but to many Filipinos.”
Camille Sta. Ana closed her own tribute with three words that summed up the room that night: “The best Tita.”
The video reel added even more voices. Joey Quimbo recalled how Tita Isabel “made it a tradition to welcome Filipino Kellogg students, get to know us personally, and support us in whatever way she could.” Jovi Zalamea, calling in from Singapore, thanked her simply “for making your home a home for us.” They were joined by Cesar Purisima, former Finance Secretary, along with Dennis Valdes, Steve Dekrey, Jolee, Manolet, and Tori Montinola. Others included Alicia Morales, Rosky Sevilla, Stephen Gan, Alboy Poblete, and Vivien Go. Each shared how Tita Isabel’s presence and generosity made their time at Kellogg lighter and warmer. Her influence also made their experience far more bearable.
An Evening Built to Match Her Generosity
Host Lawrence Tiu opened the evening with warmth and energy, followed by welcome remarks from Bernadine Siy and a moving video tribute. The program then flowed into live testimonials, beginning with Evelyn Singson—one of the first two women admitted when the school reopened to female students—and continuing with reflections from Francis Laurel, Maymay Fernandez, Elaine Co, Tony and Oli Jacinto, Jay and Jenny Silayan, Martin Tan, and Clarissa Gonzales. The floor was then opened for others who felt moved to share, creating a heartfelt and inclusive moment.
Guided by the leadership of Kellogg alumna Bernadine Siy and John Clements President & CEO Carol Dominguez, herself a Kellogg alum, the tribute carried an added layer of meaning, underscoring how Tita Isabel’s influence continues to resonate across generations.
Kellogg Dean Francesca Cornelli sent her own video message, calling Tita Isabel “the anchor for the Philippine community who made Evanston their second home” and noting her receipt of Kellogg’s Alumni Award in 1997
When Tita Isabel rose for her closing remarks, the band struck up “Happy Birthday.” A cake was brought out, turning tribute into celebration. Dinner and a live band courtesy of alumna Maymay Fernandez carried the evening forward. DJ Agnes closed the night on a joyful note.
A Legacy That Keeps Growing
Asked what she’d like to say to current and future Kellogg alums, Tita Isabel’s answer was simple: “If they need anything, I am here.” Her own children went to Kellogg, and even now, based in Chicago, she still welcomes students who stop by whenever they’re in town.
For a community scattered from Manila to Singapore to Chicago, Tita Isabel has been a fixed point. She has held that role for half a century. The tribute at Manila Golf Club was not really an ending. It was Kellogg alums gathering once again around the table she built. This time, they wanted her to know exactly what it had meant.
Want to Be Part of a Community Like This?
Stories like Tita Isabel’s are, in many ways, the clearest picture of what a Kellogg education builds: a network that keeps showing up for one another, decades after graduation. If that kind of lifelong community matters to you, it’s worth learning more about the Kellogg School of Management’s MBA programs at Northwestern University.
