She has distinguished herself as academician, performing artist of stage-film-television, writer, and translator. She is an alumna of the former Philippine College of Commerce (now our beloved Polytechnic University of the Philippines) where she finished Associate in Commercial Science with honor, she also holds an A. B. major in English, magna cum laude, from Manuel L. Quezon University; M. A. in Education, major in Speech Education, from New York University, USA, as Fulbright grantee and International House scholar; and a Ph. D. major in Literature, from the University of Santo Tomas. She was a UNESCO fellow in Dramatic Arts at the National School of Drama and Asian Theatre Institute in India.​
 

Dr. Carpio has reaped laurels in the Philippines and abroad (Korea, China, Iran and Europe) performing on stage and to date has received more than 50 honors and awards for these sterling engagements. She has acted in films both mainstream and indie which won for her numerous nominations and honors.​
 

She first gained international notice when as a college student she became the youngest member and singer of the First Filipino Entertainment Troupe sent by the Philippine government to war torn Korea in the winter of 1951 where she fought not with arms but with songs to bring Christmas cheers to the Philippine Expeditionary Forces to Korea (PEFTOK) and other United Nations armies. For her patriotism and bravery, “Rustie Hill,” adopted in the war maps of Korea, had been named in her honor.



But the overwhelming number of plaques, trophies and other tokens of the public’s adulation for her artistic merits underscore her rationale.



"I am donating these awards to the PUP archives and the Women of Malolos shrine in Bulacan as my way of thanking the Filipino people for appreciating my art through the years," Dr. Carpio confides.​
 

Many times, she had to put her acting career on hold to fulfill the demands of a profession that is in her blood. Her parents were teachers too, from Bulacan, land of poets and patriots. She was born in Paombong and raised in Hagonoy, where she imbibed the passion for excellence in the arts.



I’m just grateful that I have had the pleasure of being taught by her for the very short span of time as our professor in Drama and Theater Arts. I could say that you could hear nothing more than words of encouragement. She has remained warm and humble because her attitude is more of a professor than a celebrity.



She is a celebrity in her own right, an excellent performer and a great academician. Indeed, despite years of fame and glory, Ma’am Rustica remains a humble prophetess of Philippine theater. She has, and will always be its advocate though public perception may wax and wane on its relevance. As ever, she will bear witness to its agony and ecstasy after each curtain call.

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