Rowena Verdan Beduya: An Influential Filipina in the US

CEBU, Philippines -  Filipinos can make it anywhere in the world. We are a talented, skilled and hardworking lot that we can do almost anything that we set our hearts and minds into.

The United States of America is one of the places where Filipinos built their dreams and made a name for themselves. One of them is Rowena Verdan Beduya, a registered nurse, and one of the Most Influential Filipina Women in the U.S.

Rowena went to the US in 1993 to practice her nursing profession. She graduated with a degree of Bachelor of Science in Nursing at the University of the Philippines and is married to Joseph Jerel Beduya, who is an electrical engineer and at the same time a composer. Joseph’s parents, Jose Beduya and Catalina Desierto, are from Cebu. Catalina Desierto is from the San Nicolas District of Cebu City and was able to go to the US and study there under a Fullbright Scholarship.

Rowena shared that for most Filipinos, starting out in the US is not easy, even if back here in the Philippines one is considered a professional.

“There are a number of challenges in being a Filipino in the US. No matter how the world is supposedly more open to other cultures and the US being a ‘melting pot,’ you cannot help but encounter some racism. There are still some ignorant people in this world that the color of our skin matters,” she said.

Rowena experienced this first hand during her first job as a Director of Nursing in the Daughters of Miriam Center in Clifton, New Jersey, a 343-bed skilled nursing facility that caters to a predominantly middle to upper class clientele. “I was the first ever minority, Filipina and ‘young’ at that time to be promoted into the position. I took it as a challenge showed them that the Filipinos can truly be leaders and successful,” she recalled.

Since she was holding a supervisory position, Rowena made it her duty to protect her fellow Filipino nurses at work. She narrated hearing one of the “older” supervisors in the facility calling Filipino nurses “like cockroaches as they never stopped coming.”

“As soon as I heard that comment, I put her in place and she apologized to all the Filipino nurses in no time and ended up quitting in the end,” Rowena recalled adding that her training at the University of the Philippines College of Nursing and her experience in the Philippine General Hospital made her a strong and confident nursing leader in the US.

It was in 2009 when Rowena was named as one of the 100 Most Influential Filipina Women in the U.S. by the Filipina Women’s Network, a non-profit association for women of Philippine ancestry based in the United States. The organization aims to advance Filipinas in the US workplace through programs and activities that enhance public perceptions of their capacities to lead, change biases against the Filipina’s leadership abilitiesand build a pipeline of qualified leaders.

The 100 Most Influential Filipina Women in the U.S. Awards or FWN 100 is a program under the Pinay Power 2012, which aims to double the number of Filipina leaders in the US by 2012. The recognition is a working award since the winners are asked to “womentor” a protégée. Rowena was chosen from among an overwhelming number of nominations across the US.

When asked what made her one of the influential Filipinas in the US, Rowena said her current position as Vice President of Clinical Operations for Mariner Health Care where she is responsible for managing, directing and monitoring the clinical operations of the 21 long term skilled nursing facilities of the company in California is the reason why.

“I have employed and mentored numerous Filipino and non-Filipino nurses and caregivers to become better nurses and witnessed some of them become successful managers in their field. I have also been able to use my experience and training in successfully helping patients survive life-threatening emergencies,” she said.

For fellow Filipinas who dream of going to the US or are already in the US but are still struggling to make a mark there, Rowena has this advice: “Never lose track on why your are in the profession that you are in, and hopefully, money is just secondary. Unfortunately, there are a number of new graduates who come to the US and forget our Filipino value of ‘debt of gratitude’ and loyalty to the company that may have given them the break they needed to showcase their talents. A number of Filipinos do not honor their contracts and would just leave after securing their green card, thus, affecting the perception of non-Filipinos toward hiring Filipinos. As a result of this, other cultures are now a great competition for the Filipinos in the US,” she said.

But Rowena added that the Filipino’s hardworking and caring nature are really among the qualities that make us stand out whatever part of the world we are in. “Majority of us have faith that God is always with us in every step of the way. All these are the ingredients of success,” she concluded.