Aphelion: The 2019 IE Graduation Dinner
Last June 27, the UP IE Alumni Association in collaboration with the IE Representatives of the Engineering Student Council, honored the graduating batch of sixty-six graduates, including four IE Achievers grantees, through a night full of food, music, awards and friends.
“Aphelion,” which is the turning point at a celestial object’s orbit around the Sun, was the chosen theme of the dinner to symbolize how the graduates have reached the end of their journey in the University of the Philippines, but the beginning of their professional lives.
The evening began with a hearty dinner provided by 128 Catering white the graduates were serenaded by the vocal and instrumental talents of IE undergraduates Precious Dimacali and Ethan Adalba, as well as Ivan Gonzales, Raph Morallo, and Jonas Abadilla of the Engineering Student Council.
Following the dinner, a UP trivia game began the retrospective line-up of events, which members of the IE department particularly enjoyed. Outgoing Department Chair Lowell Lorenzo then gave the welcoming remarks to salute the graduates, then proceeded to announce fun batch awards such as “Tsuperhero,” “Batch Lovebirds,” and “Engineering Master”. Awardees each won a certificate and a gift to help them further their “special” talents: a cork board for the P.R.-esident (who always makes batch announcements), a megaphone for the Batch Megaphone (loudest person of the batch), and a neck pillow so the Batch Mom can rest, among others.
In the middle of the special awards portion, a “Never-have-I-ever” game phrased as “Have you ever <had this UP experience>?” revealed which batch mate had the least stereotypical “Tatak-UP” experiences. A yes merits one out of the game while the last one standing – because of all no’s, went home with a P500 gift certificate.
One of the night’s highlights was the introduction of UPIEAA to the graduates. Jomari Mercado, the Membership Committee Head, shared how the new members can be involved in the various programs of the association, after which, the current President Ricky Peña led the graduates in reciting the Oath of Membership.
The program continued with the IE/OR Dept recognizing the best undergraduate projects for IE 153: Project Development and Management.
1. “A Feasibility Study on CareAfar: A Tracking Tool for Patients with Memory and Cognitive Disorders” by Maria Cueto, Mary Dizon, Joan Mendoza, and Aleeza Sy;
2. “A Feasibility Study on the Development of Endoskeletal-Transtibial Prosthesis” by Niko Agbayani, James Garcia, Charles Maquinto, and Miguel Santos; and
3.”Hydrogel Wound Dressing Feasibility Study” by Karl Banag, Mirabella Justiniani, Martina Recto, and Ramon Romero.
Ivan Valdez and Antonela Gancayco, outgoing heads of UP CIEM and UP IE Club, respectively, then gave heartwarming speeches, reminiscing on what they and the batch went through: from passing the UPCAT to passing dreaded service courses (EEE, ME, ES subjects…); from joining their organizations to leading the younger batches. They also summarized values taught by the university, for the future IE professionals to take into the world: to utilize their talents for efficiency, effectiveness, and meaningful impact; to strive for continuous improvement, not putting aside what others have to say; to recognize and acknowledge the value of persons; and to hold on to the resiliency that life in UP has instilled in them.
The final agenda for the evening was an election for the UPIEAA Batch 2019 Representative. It was the quickest election, since the voting ended before the emcee could finish explaining the task at hand; the emcee, Paolo Piedad, himself was chosen to represent the batch via a Viva Voce vote, and the program ended with a batch photo.
Complete Event Photos can be found on “UP Industrial Engineering Representatives” Facebook page :
https://www.facebook.com/pg/iereps/photos/?tab=album&album_id=2631205263772775&ref=page_internal
