By: Paul Kim Ivan Ramirez
“Sa kabila ng mga hamon, narito ang Pamantasan para sa kinabukasan ng bayan.”
Held by the UPLB Industrial Engineering Department (IED) in cooperation with the UPLB Industrial Engineering Students’ Organization (IESO), this year’s Freshman Convocation with the theme “A Voyage into the World of Industrial Engineering” was successfully conducted over Zoom on Monday, September 13, 2021. Over 90 freshmen were welcomed with a program featuring testimonies, discussions, and activities catered into introducing the IED and the BS Industrial Engineering (BS IE) Degree program to the freshmen.
“Although the admission process this year is quite different from [that of the] previous years, we believe that you all deserve your slot here in the University,” said IED Chairperson Dr. Josefa Angelie D. Revilla as she personally welcomed and congratulated the new batch for qualifying in the University of the Philippines College Admissions (UPCA) and securing scholarships in the University.
IED faculty member Asst. Prof. Clarissa M. Pesigan then presented the BS IE Four-year Program and the journey these students will have during their time in UPLB, particularly “in the next four years or so of [the freshmen’s] college lives.” The different types of subjects constituting the 160-unit graduation requirement of the program, such as foundation, engineering science, general education, and core courses, were elucidated.
The Top 10 UPCA qualifiers were recognized and awarded certificates by the IED. From this roster, Freshman Kyla Mae Ann Salvacion shared her opinions on being an UPCA qualifier who is about to take the BSIE degree program in UPLB and congratulated her fellow freshmen for “making it” into the university.
“For most of us, UP [was] a dream; a dream we thought back then that was too far out of our reach,” she said in her speech. “But at last, our dream has finally come to fruition… As we embark on our new journey towards becoming full-fledged scholars ng bayan, may we not lose sight of the University’s true mission [of] giving free and quality education.”
The new batch was also oriented for online campus life through the UPLB Freshie Guide presented by UPLB IESO and the list of important social media pages and websites presented by Engr. John Kenneth P. Punongbayan, IED faculty member. To allow their visualization of what face-to-face classes may look like, they were virtually toured around the department’s facilities prepared by IED staff and faculty members Mr. Rainier Austria, Engr. Marc Joseph Villanueva, and Engr. Alan Marco Mercado.
To further boost their motivation in starting their UPLB BSIE college journey, the Freshmen were presented the most recent achievements of IE students, being particularly shown the top positions held by exceptional students during the competitions conducted by various student organizations and a high passing rate among graduates who have taken the Certified Industrial Engineer (CIE) Examinations.
Class of 2020 graduate, now Engr. Jillian Ramos, and current senior student Alyssa Camacho also gave their testimonials and shared their experiences on how the members of the UPLB IED help their students grow into full-fledged IE professionals from their first year in the University. UPLB IESO President Jannsen Bello then sent off the freshmen with words of encouragement at the end of the event.
The above speakers are competent leaders affiliated with the UPLB IESO, the only academic organization recognized by the IED. As part of the event’s program, a segment showcasing this organization was held, allowing a glimpse into the organization’s developmental activities, professional grit, academic prowess, and its deeply-rooted relationship with the IED.
In its continuous effort to improve systems across almost all industries and notwithstanding impediments due to the ongoing pandemic, the UPLB IE Community has warmly received these new members into its ranks of capable students with excellent potential and shall continue to grow throughout the years.
