Marquez, a faculty member of the College of Agriculture, recently earned her Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of Environment and Life Science at Okayama University. She completed the program in three years under the Japanese Government (MEXT) Scholarship, which supports international students in pursuing advanced degrees at Japanese universities.

Joining her in the visit were Dr. Kristian Q. Aldea, OIC Vice President for Academic Affairs, who also obtained his PhD in Japan, and Zyra Mae T. Tumala, Director for Internationalization at CatSU.

It was not the first time Marquez reconnected with the university community while pursuing her degree. In April 2025, she visited CatSU together with Prof. Fumikazu Ubukata of Okayama University for a short lecture and forum.

During her meeting with President Acedo, Marquez said her years of study in Japan were transformative and that she hopes to share her learnings with CatSU students. She also expressed optimism that more CatSU faculty will be able to follow the same path of becoming scholars in Japan.