Written by: Jessica Rose Aguilar and Roldan Joseph Perez
The BSIE Freshman Convocation has finally come back in a face-to-face setup after two consecutive years of conducting the event virtually. The event was organized by the UPLB Department of Industrial Engineering (DIE) in partnership with the UPLB Industrial Engineering Students’ Organization (IESO).
After a series of university-wide and college-level events last September 05, 2022, Monday, directed to the first years, the BSIE Freshmen Convocation commenced at the CEAT Lecture Hall. It accommodated over 80 BSIE freshmen with the event organizers from the UPLB IESO and the UPLB DIE faculty and staff. The BSIE Freshmen were welcomed with the program featuring the discussions, virtual tour, testimony, awarding, and many more.
The Chairperson of the DIE, Dr. Josefa Angelie D. Revilla, warmly welcomed the incoming batch of IE students and gave her opening remarks as she also gaily congratulated the University of the Philippines College Admissions (UPCA) qualifiers for this year and shared inspirational words with them.
Giving an overview of the four-year stay of the new IE students in the university, Asst. Prof. Maria Liezel Eusebio discussed the updated curriculum with the freshmen mentioning the critical courses that must be taken every semester.
Though some classes are to be conducted in a face-to-face setup, there are still constraints like health protocols to be followed. Thus, the DIE faculty and staff prepared and presented a virtual tour of the department. This was followed by a presentation made by Engr. Franz Christian Velasco, DIE faculty member, discussing the relevant websites and pages an IE student must know.
An alumna from the class of 2022 graduates, Engr. Alyssa Gabrielle Camacho gave a motivational speech for BSIE freshmen as she pointed out the beauty of the Industrial Engineering program, her experiences, and how it helped her to achieve her goals. She ended her speech by stating, “Choosing IE is one of the best decisions that I’ve made in my life and I hope that it is yours too.”
The Top 10 BSIE UPCA Qualifiers 2022 were awarded certificates. Moreover, the batch 2022 representative, Isagani Manuel Almario, delivered a speech congratulating his batchmates for getting into the university. He also expressed his appreciation for everyone and left uplifting words for his fellow students.
The President of the UPLB IESO, Maui Alexis Samonte, officially closed the event by sending gratitude to the department, event organizers, and especially to freshmen.
The UPLB IE Community has successfully welcomed and received new members and competent leaders that could continually develop with the program and the university throughout the years. As we are transitioning to the new normal, the principle of continuous improvement will carry on with these future engineers and will keep on growing as we keep on progressing.