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\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\u2018The Golden Bronze\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n Before she was known as Lucy Lombos to readers and friends, and prior to publishing books in the US, Canada, and the Philippines, Lucy was Luz\u00a0dela\u00a0Torre Enriquez, a very fitting name for a woman who serves as a \u201cjubilant light to her family and friends.\u201d<\/p>\n Lucy, who calls herself \u2018The Golden Bronze\u2019 and the \u2018Spring-Time-Come-Alive,\u2019 was born and bred in the Philippine capital of Manila. She studied under the tutelage of religious orders such as the Religious of the Virgin Mary in high school and The Salesian Sisters of Don Bosco in college. If she had not been a writer today, she would probably be a nun, for after graduating high school, she entered the convent of Daughters of Mary, Help of Christians.<\/p>\n She finished her Education degree at Society of the Divine Word in Calapan, Oriental Mindoro and her Master\u2019s Program in Language and Literacy at the University of the Philippines.<\/p>\n Her career in the education sector commenced at Puerto Galera Academy in Mindoro where she worked as a teacher, while her parents managed its canteen. From Manila, the Enriquezes moved to Puerto Galera upon the invitation of a German Missionary.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cUp to now, Puerto Galera has been beautifully etched in my heart and is warmly considered my hometown for more than three decades,\u201d Lucy said.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Educator<\/strong><\/p>\n With a mission to \u201creinforce, enhance, and provide mastery of a child’s learning,\u201d Lucy and husband Umberto \u201cJun\u201d Lombos, an accountant, in 2000 founded Lombosco Academy (LA) in Katarungan Village, Muntinlupa City. She sits as LA\u2019s Directress while Jun serves as its Founding President.<\/p>\n \u201cThe school\u2019s vision is to be known as \u2018The Threshold of Academic Excellence and Growth In God\u2019s Love,\u2019\u201d said Lucy who manages the Academy online when in Canada.<\/p>\n Lucy admitted that directing and monitoring a school in the Philippines from Canada comes with a challenge due mainly to the difference in time. So whenever she\u2019s in the Philippines, Lucy ensures that she gives her students and teachers the support she can provide.<\/p>\n \u201cI wear different hats – giving training to her teachers and staff; organizing events; book launching and storytelling, reviewing the pupils,\u00a0counselling, conferencing with the parents, and coordinating the repairs and maintenance of the school,\u201d she said. \u201cTeaching is tough and should never be taken for granted.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n From the Philippines to Canada<\/strong><\/p>\n Seeking for a greener pasture, Jun in 2005 flew to Canada. However, his stay had to be cut short when he received the news that his mother had fallen seriously ill.<\/p>\n Determined to provide a good life and give their children a brighter future, he went back to Canada in 2012, and just a few days after his arrival, he filed sponsorship for Lucy and their three children to immigrate to Canada.<\/p>\n Two years later, in June 2014, the family finally reunited.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWhen I arrived in Canada, it was summer. It was a perfect time of the year, coming from a tropical country,\u201d Lucy recalled.<\/p>\n \u201cI was amazed by the cleanliness of the place and the freshness of the air we all breathe. It only showed that there was no pollution. I noticed that fruits and vegetables are of wide variety yet affordable; there are lots of flowers around and nobody picks them,\u201d she said<\/p>\n \u201cI noted that the health care system is excellent. Canada Line is superb. Multi-culturalism is exciting,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n But as the season changed, so did Lucy\u2019s state of health.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI felt the freezing temperature when autumn and winter seasons came which I considered as an obstacle to work. The long walks to visit places caused me a painful foot injury,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Lucy, however, did not let her injury keep her from being productive. In fact, she used this break to expand her scholastic achievements. While recuperating, she enrolled in online courses on First Aid and Food Safety and studied TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of\u00a0other\u00a0Languages) at ISS Language & Career College of BC. She also took writing courses at a local school district and at the Writing Academy in the US.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Author<\/strong><\/p>\n Although Lucy has established a new life in Canada, the Philippines still holds a dear place in her heart and mind.<\/p>\n \u201cI miss the culture of celebration in the Philippines, especially on Christmas and New Year. I love to hear the \u201ckampana<\/em>\u201d or the church bells at the Immaculate Conception Parish in Poblacion, Puerto Galera. I also miss my school, the children, and the teachers.\u201d she shared.<\/p>\n The Philippines is also home to her \u201csmart and humorous\u201d mother, 82-year-old\u00a0Elisea\u00a0de la Torre-Enriquez. If there are people Lucy would thank for igniting her passion in writing, Mrs. Enriquez and Lucy\u2019s grandmother, Regina de la Torre, would probably be on top of her list, for they opened to Lucy the door to literature \u00a0by painting \u201ccolourful\u00a0pictures and fascinating words in her young, absorbent mind.\u201d<\/p>\n Lucy, on her website, relates that she \u201cplays with words and makes magic, using the figures of speech.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHer pen and paper attracted her to put her creative juices into writing for future compilation and ultimately share them to other people, particularly the youth,\u201d Lucy, speaking in a third-person point of view, wrote.<\/p>\n \u201cShe would like to inspire the young ones so that more lives will be touched or changed somehow. Hence she gives a contribution and an impact on the world at large,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n Perhaps, one of the biggest \u2014 if not the grandest \u2014 contributions of Lucy to the world is her children\u2019s books that she \u201cloves writing\u201d while visualizing her school children at LA, who serve as her inspiration.<\/p>\n The first of her children\u2019s book, \u2018Ang Tinago Kong Piso<\/em>\u00a0(“The Peso Coin I Kept\u201d),\u2019 was published in the Philippines in 2014. The three others are \u2018The Class Lady Bug,\u2019 \u2018The Star of the Sea: A Boat Ride,\u2019 and \u2018Ter and Ter\u2019 (The Turtle and the Eagle),\u2019 published in the US in 2016, in Canada in the spring of 2017, and in the Philippines in March 2018, respectively.<\/p>\n \u2018The Class Lady Bug\u2019 touches upon child bullying and how a young girl dealt with her bullies, while \u2018The Star of the Sea: A Boat Ride\u2019 tells the story of Aleli who is set to take her first boat trip, with Puerto Galera as the setting.<\/p>\n Lucy also authored the biography of Philippines\u2019s \u201cHappiness Guru,\u201d Jimmy Belleza, entitled \u2018Happiness 365 and \u00bc Days.\u2019 It is filled with inspirational stories of how he rose from poverty to becoming an entrepreneur and motivational speaker.<\/p>\n \u2018The Star of the Sea: A Boat Ride,\u2019 ‘\u2018Ter and Ter\u2019 (The Turtle and the Eagle),\u2019 and \u2018Happiness 365 and \u00bc Days\u2019 earned Lucy an \u201cOfficial Recognition\u201d from the Municipality of Puerto Galera for promoting the town\u2019s tourism to the international market.<\/p>\n Lucy considered the award a blessing from the Lord and dedicated it to her family, friends, readers, and LA.<\/p>\n Lucy is set to publish more books for the kids. Her upcoming books are \u2018The Joys of Junior,\u2019 \u2018Swanie\u2019s Bag,\u2019 \u2018Pinky Oinky,\u2019 \u2018Noshi, the House Fly,\u2019 and \u2018The Aspirant.\u2019<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Pieces of advice<\/strong><\/p>\n As a successful educator and author, Lucy sure knows a thing or two about giving tips on how to reach the top.<\/p>\n When asked for an advice to aspiring writers, Lucy said, \u201cFor those who would like to become writers, I advise to hone one\u2019s writing skills and read a lot. Visualize that writing is like preparing a hamburger (top bun, fillings and bottom bun) with a cup of coffee, a writing bonus.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cEveryone has got the special power to succeed and be heard,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n As for Filipino immigrants in Canada, Lucy tells, \u201cI always share that new immigrants will definitely have a place here in Canada. Everyone will flourish and prosper in the new homeland. Just learn new skills, practice English well; respect other cultures and comply with the country\u2019s rules.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t ever give up. I believe that Filipinos are a resilient type of people and naturally know how to thrive,\u201d she concludes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Award-winning children\u2019s book creator Tommy dePaola once said, \u201cReading is important because, if you can read, you can learn anything …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":160845,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[50010,3151,50004,5480,50012,50008,50007,50006,50005,50002,50003,50009,50011],"class_list":["post-160836","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-filipino-canadian-in-focus","tag-ang-tinago-kong-piso-the-peso-coin-i-kept","tag-author","tag-educator","tag-filipino-canadian","tag-happiness-365-and--days","tag-happiness-guru","tag-jimmy-belleza","tag-jun-lombos","tag-lombosco-academy","tag-lucy-lombos","tag-luz-enriquez-lombos","tag-the-class-lady-bug","tag-ter-and-ter-the-turtle-and-the-eagle","mauthors-katherine-padilla","mauthors-philippine-canadian-inquirer"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/160836","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/33"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=160836"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/160836\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/160845"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=160836"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=160836"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=160836"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/lucy-storytelling.jpg\")
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