Velasco: From a TCT student to the TSU President

When Dr. Arnold E. Velasco stepped into the office as the sixth president of Tarlac State University on April 1, 2022, it wasn't just a career milestone—it was a homecoming nearly forty years in the making.

For the first time in TSU history, the university was led by one of its own: a man who once walked these same corridors not as an administrator, but as a young dreamer just trying to get by the day as a working student and a breadwinner.

Nearly four decades later, standing before the same academic community, Pres. Velasco would look back on that journey not only with pride, but with purpose.

"I entered the portals of TCT (now TSU) in June 1984 as a first-year Electrical Engineering student. After 38 years, I am now TSU's 6th president," he shared during his investiture rites in 2022, framing his story as a possibility not just for himself, but for students who come from similar beginnings.

Soaring higher

Over the course of his term at TSU, the university recorded a series of institutional milestones made possible by the collaborative efforts of his administrative officials and staff, as well as his unwavering support.

In 2022, the university earned a three-star rating from Quacquarelli Symonds and ranked among the 15 HEIs and eight SUCs in the Philippines in the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings. Apart from the quality assurance milestones, Pres. Velasco's governance framework for TSU, along with the Board of Regents, was strengthened in the same year with the enactment of a new university charter.

In 2023, TSU expanded its strategic direction by introducing new roadmaps focused on internationalization and technology development. It sustained its ISO 9001:2015 certification, maintaining quality management standards, and became the first state university in the Philippines to participate in the Complementary Pathways program in partnership with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the Department of Justice.

Still in 2023, Pres. Velasco was awarded the "World Diamond Leader Award" by the Thailand International Folklore Festival on August 24, 2023 for his "significant" support in promoting culture and arts in the Philippines, together with then Office of Culture, Arts, and Languages Director Prof. Marcelino P. Balanquit.

By 2024, TSU's progress extended further into research, innovation, and infrastructure. In terms of innovation, the university received its first Platinum Award from the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines' ITSO 2.0 Clustering. In the research area, TSU hosted its first International Multidisciplinary Research Conference and co-hosted an international forensic science conference. Meanwhile, the university also ventured into infrastructure developments, including the groundbreaking of a new simulation laboratory building for the College of Science at the Lucinda Campus and the expansion of facilities at the La Paz Campus. Partnerships also continued to grow, including collaborations with local and international organizations.

Outstanding accounting and finance practices of TSU were also recognized from 2024 to 2025 by the Government Financial Management Innovators Circle, Inc. for the effective use of the enhanced electronic New Government Accounting System (eNGAS) and the Association of Government Accountants of the Philippines, Inc. as one of the most outstanding accounting offices.

Furthermore, TSU's academic performance continued to soar higher with graduates topping board examinations, colleges attaining passing rates higher than the national average, and sustaining recognitions as a top-performing school, particularly in the Criminology Licensure Examination.

Alongside these developments, the university maintained its strong presence in global rankings, including the World University Rankings for Innovation and the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings.

Service with humility

Yet beyond these measurable outcomes, Pres. Velasco's governance has often been described in more personal terms.

Members of the TSU community frequently note his presence in spaces that extend beyond formal obligations—attending team-building activities, staff events, and student gatherings.

From the onset of his presidency, Pres. Velasco signaled a leadership style grounded in inclusivity, empathy, and connection. In his early messages to the university community, he emphasized the importance of respect, unity, and shared purpose, often describing TSU as a space that should feel like a community rather than just an institution.

"I really want the TSU community to have this unity. I want them to be empowered; I want them to have a heart in realizing the vision of the university. Kahit na ‘yung pinakamaliit na empleyado ay meron siyang participation,” he said in an interview in April 2022.

Furthermore, he added that no matter how impossible the vision could be, if the faculty and non-teaching staff are contented, satisfied, and happy, they can serve better and provide better quality education and services to students.

In a message delivered during the 2024 Service Awards, he shared a 'hot chocolate' story, a metaphor that has since become a cornerstone of his legacy: "Life is a hot chocolate—your job, title, and positions are the cups. The cup you have right now does not define or change the quality of life you have. Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the chocolate God provided us," he said.

As his term draws to a close on March 31, 2026, Pres. Velasco leaves behind a term defined not only by institutional progress but also by the very core values he proposed for TSU: truth, service, and unity.

For many within the university, his tenure will be remembered not only through the programs implemented or recognitions achieved, but through the way he engaged with the community—quietly, consistently, and with an understanding shaped by experience.

In returning as an "anak ng TSU," Pres. Velasco did more than lead; he reinforced a connection that began decades earlier, one that continues to resonate as the university moves forward.

As he noted in a message delivered in 2024, his commitment was never about the power of the office, but about the people it serves:

"Let us make the best of everything that we have here at TSU, mababa man o mataas ang ating posisyon. Live simply, love generously, care deeply, and speak kindly to everyone."

Looking back as a TCT student

Pres. Velasco's story began in 1984, back when the university was still the Tarlac College of Technology. His college years weren't defined by the typical leisure of youth, but by a quiet, relentless perseverance of juggling work and studies to help support their family, navigating the streets of his hometown in Sta. Ignacia, Tarlac every night as a tricycle driver.

Being the eldest in the brood of six, young Pres. Velasco would travel to different places on weekends to take on construction jobs to pay for his tuition and send his siblings to school.

“During summer, ang pinakamalayo kong napuntahan ay Abra, Benguet – gumagawa ng dam, etc. Basta may marinig akong ‘construction,’ kahit gaano kadami, sumasama ako... Kahit anong trabaho, tinatanggap ko. Nagpapasada ako kahit gabi. Kahit na nag-aaral ako, kahit papaano nakakatulong din sa pamilya,” he said during an interview with the Office of Public Affairs last April 2022.

For five years, he got through each day with the same meal composed of rice and tomato wrapped in banana leaves, sometimes seasoned only with a pinch of salt, wearing one pair of worn-out shoes and an old backpack full of stitches that he used for work and school.

“Mabibilang niyo po sa mga daliri ko kung ilang beses lang ako kumain ng may ulam. Palaging asin, kanin, at kamatis lang po araw-araw. Kaya ang ginagawa ko po kapag lunch time na, nagkukulong na ako sa Engineering Room 7 dahil ayaw kong makita ng mga kakalse ko na ang ulam ko ay asin lang. Pero nagpatuloy po akong mangarap bilang engineer po,” he said in a message delivered during a scholarship payout in December 2022.

Academic and early professional life

Pres. Velasco pursued multiple academic degrees along the way: Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering, Master of Arts in Teaching Mathematics, and Doctor of Philosophy in Development Education, and passed three government licensure examinations: Registered Electrical Engineers and Registered Master Electricians Licensure Examinations, the Professional Teachers Licensure Examination, and the Civil Service Professionals Examination.

The journey to attain these titles was never easy. The "working student" DNA had become the heartbeat of his journey, as he found ways to work while also attending graduate school classes and conducting research.

After getting his professional EE license, Pres. Velasco taught at Sta. Ignacia Academy, St. Paul College of Technology in Camiling, and Trinity Arts and Technical Academy in Paniqui. Afterwards, he worked as a maintenance engineer at a private company in Taguig City.

Before returning to TSU, Pres. Velasco returned to his love of teaching at Tarlac Agricultural University, where he spent 28 years as university electrical engineer, College of Education dean, Admission and Registration Services director, Research and Development director, Project Management Committee for Infrastructure Projects chair, and, eventually, Vice President for Academic Affairs from 2021-2022.