MENDOZA, Bernadeth A.

STS- First Speaker: Engr. Aisa A. Mejino

As an engineering student, we are always associated with science and
technology, we must think of something that would not just benefit ourselves but
the society as whole, that is what I have learn during the seminar in Science
Technology & Society with its theme: �Emerging Technologies and Societal
Transformations� that was held at Amphitheater, 4th Flr. CITE Bldg. in Batangas
State University last May 15, 2019. Engr. Mejino, the SALt�s CEO, and an
engineering professor at De la Salle University in Lipa City, gave us an
encouraging words as she shared all of her experiences on how she came up with SALt
or the Sustainable Alternative Lightning Lamp. She used to be a volunteer in rural
communities, she showed us some picture of how poor and underprivileged the life in
the places that she had been to, she told us how people endure long hours of
walking just to buy kerosene for their lamps and that is where the idea of SALt
lamp started. According to Engr. Mejino, �It isn�t just a product, it�s a social
movement�, it is amazing how she can think of something that would help the society
because as I watched her sharing her story, what I saw in her was her willingness
to help the society, b I think it is because she witness how hard the life in the
rural communities.
�To light up the rest of the Philippines sustainably� is her vision, her pure
intention in helping the Philippines make her received numerous awards in the
Philippines, Singapore, Japan and South Korea. The SALt also won in different
competition in the Philippines and abroad. It is really amazing how she is able to
do this thing, and the fact that she is so humble as she was sharing her
experiences as if she haven�t done something that would benefit the whole country
just show how great her personality is and I really admire her for that.
Aside from sharing her experience, she also gave us some advices if ever we
also want to invent something that would also benefit the country. She told us we
can also innovate or invent something that can help the society, that we can start
by simple things because even though it is just simple or small as long as it can
feasible and it actually improve or help to develop our country it is still
innovation. Engr. Mejino told us her their struggles in making the SALt lamp and it
maybe it was hard but it is not impossible. It makes me want to do or achieve
something like that, because just the thought of being able of doing something like
that feels so amazing, what more if I would experience it firsthand?
After hearing what she had experience I started to question myself, �Will I
be able to do something like that?� �What are my plans after I graduate?� �Will I
be able to help my country?� �Is it possible for me to be that successful?� those
questions was just some example of how I became so afraid, because honestly the
pressure and stress that I have right now is no joke and to think that I�m not even
half way of my journey as an engineer makes me think a lot of things but Engr.
Mejino somehow help me to realize that there is a lot of opportunities after I
graduate. Maybe it will be tough, there would always be a problem, but one thing
that I have learned is not to focus on the problem but to find a way solve that
problem, it will be hard but it is not possible.
Second Speaker- Mr. Dave Arthur R. Robledo
What I have learned with Mr. Robledo is to be able to come up with new ideas
or to be able to innovate or invent something, we should always attend to our class
because we won�t be able to learn something if we are not attending our class,
though his way of making his new idea is different from Engr. Mejino, because as
for Engr. Mejino, she came up with her invention because she had witness something
that triggered her to do the SALt lamp, while on Mr. Robledo�s case he give
emphasized that is importmat to attend our class in order to achieve something.
Mr. Robledo was a DOST scholar and like Engr. Mejno, he also shared some of
his experience while he was one of DOST scholars. He told us the benefits of being
an scholar, that every research or project is funded by the DOST as long as the
department see it as feasible and it will be a great help for the development of
the Science and Technology in the Philippines then it is not impossible for every
student to be an inventor or innovator because they will be funded by the DOST.
 Another thing that I have learned from Mr. Robledo is to be able to achieve
something you should also know how to take a risk. We as a future engineer should
be a risk taker we need to trust ourselves when it comes to making something that
would benefit the society. If we want to be really successful in our chosen career,
we must take risk, think about how Engr. Mejino take a risk on her invention and
how other successful business man take risk on their investments. It is always
about taking risk and being wise in decision making. Something won�t happen if we
are too scared of what future holds, it would be scary but it won�t help us to gain
something.
The two speakers may have different perspective in achieving something but
nonetheless, it is still up to us on how are going to achieve our goals. Engr.
Mejino may have learned something when she witness how hard life can be and that
serves her steppingstone to be successful while Mr. Robledo relies on what he had
learned in school, either way, it�s just made me realize that everything is
possible, we just have our own way on achieving our dreams.