Saturday, Feb. 13, 2021 was a red-letter day which brought back memories of the first decade of UPIE, thanks to the wonders of Zoom.  Spearheaded by batches ’74 and ’75, the reunion brought together (20) IE alumni from the early to mid-70’s who are based in the Philippines, Singapore, Australia and North America. The guest of honor was no less than the first IE Dept. chair, Doc Louie Pascual, who now lives in LA. Also on hand were DOST Sec. Boy de la Peña and former DPWH Sec. Babes Singson. The rest of the participants:  Al Bautista & Sarsi Oandasan (Singapore), Mon Gelvezon, Bert Morales, Fil Viniegra, Tony Gaerlan,  Lito Melendres, Chito Calingo, Mon de Leon & Val Reyes (Manila), Ray Altarejos (NY but locked down in Manila), Bert Llamas (Sydney), Ernie Sy (Ottawa), Tess Sta. Maria Dionisio, Magda Manigque and Nito Braganza (Los Angeles) and Boots Manansala (New Jersey). To bridge those years with the present, current IE chair Prof. Erick Llaguno and Systems Thinking professorial chair holder Prof. Raymond Lagria attended as well on Doc Pascual’s invitation. Profs. Erick and Raymond, who came from much later generations, made the headcount to a total of 22.
  
It was a fun and happy reunion after long years of separation for most. At the same time, Doc Louie shared his advocacy on the use of systems thinking and systems dynamics in solving complex global problems. Sec. Boy talked about his association with Doc Louie and IEs through the years while Sec. Babes invited the group to donate to the Batch 71’s initiative to refurbish the UP Chapel, which has been declared as a Philippine heritage site.  Prof. Erick capped the occasion with a heads up on the IE golden jubilee celebration this year, plans for which are in progress.