17/09/2026
FILIPINA PRIDE 🇵🇭
Astrid Tuminez was born in Iloilo and was only two years old when her parents moved their seven children to Iloilo City in search of better opportunities.
The family lived in a small bamboo-and-nipa home by the sea. Their roof leaked when it rained, and Astrid later recalled stuffing lollipop wrappers into the holes of her worn-out shoes to help keep the water out.
Her education began because of an opportunity her family could not have afforded on their own.
Catholic nuns from the Daughters of Charity met the family while visiting their community and offered Astrid and her sisters the chance to study tuition-free at Colegio del Sagrado Corazon de Jesus.
Astrid entered school at five years old with no previous schooling. On her first day, she did not even know how to spell her own name and was placed at the back of the class. She also remembered receiving zeros on her first quizzes without realizing that zero was a bad grade.
Within months, she learned to read and write, worked her way to the first seat in the class, and eventually advanced directly to second grade. During recess, while other children played or bought snacks, Astrid often stayed in the library and read through the books on its shelves.
By 15, she had already finished high school and was studying at the University of the Philippines on a full government scholarship.
At 18, she moved to the United States and continued her studies at Brigham Young University, where she graduated summa cm laude with degrees in international relations and Russian literature.
She later earned a master’s degree in Soviet Studies from Harvard University and a PhD in political science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
Her career eventually took her into international affairs, education, finance, and technology. She worked with organizations including the Carnegie Corporation of New York and AIG Global Investments, became a vice dean at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy in Singapore, and later joined Microsoft as regional director for corporate, external, and legal affairs in Southeast Asia, where her team supported 15 countries.
In 2018, Astrid was selected as the seventh president of Utah Valley University, becoming the first woman to serve as its full-time president.
She was no longer simply studying inside some of the world’s leading universities. She was now responsible for leading one.
UVU already had nearly 40,000 students when she took office and was the university with the highest enrollment in Utah. During her presidency, enrollment grew to more than 48,000 students, the university expanded its academic programs, launched Utah’s first applied AI institute, and raised more than $250 million through its first comprehensive fundraising campaign.
Astrid led Utah Valley University from 2018 until May 2026, completing nearly eight years as its president.
Her education began with a free place in a classroom in Iloilo. Decades later, she was leading tens of thousands of students at one of the largest universities in the United States.
Mabuhay ka, Dr. Astrid Tuminez. Proudly Filipino.💙
