‘TONIGHT, I would like to look back to where I came from and look forward to where I am going. I am a son of a farmer and my parents are very hardworking,” said the son of a sugarcane farmer at a forum attended by Department of Science and Technology (DOST) officials and staff, journalists and students.
Joseph D. Gimang’s parents never reached high school. His father finished Grade 2, while his mother reached Grade 6. He is the youngest in a family of nine; and times were hard.
Despite this, the young Gimang, who hails from Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu, had his hopes and dreams alive. As a boy, he wanted to follow in his dad’s footsteps and be a farmer, too. Later on, he dreamt of becoming a lawyer. When he was in high school he thought of becoming a doctor. But the teenage Gimang also loved building things. So he finally decided to be an engineer.
“The only treasure we can leave you is education,” his parents’ words rang in his heart every day. Indeed, he pinned his hopes on education, which spurred him on to what he has become today.
Recently, Gimang spoke at the Elena O. Diola Memorial Hall of the DOST Central Visayas office in Lahug, Cebu City, as a former DOST scholar who became a successful electronic hardware design and printed circuit board development engineer. The event was the DOST Scholars Forum, where scholars from Central Visayas gathered to obtain life and career tips from past scholars who are now successful professionals.
“Career-wise, I’m still beginning my journey,” Gimang said. “Let’s say, I will consider myself successful in this field when I’ve already invented something that helps a lot of people.” He elicited oohs and aahs, and a lot of laughs and applause from the audience.
Scholarship and employment
As a high school student, he claimed, he was serious about taking the DOST scholarship. “I submitted the requirements at the very last minute. I took the exam and there were hundreds of us in school who took the exam. By God’s grace, I passed,” he recounted. “I believe that was an answered prayer because He knows that I cannot go to school without the scholarship.” He enrolled in communication engineering at the Technological University of the Philippines Visayas, where the tuition was only P600 per term, with three terms in a year. With his scholarship, Joseph even got to support his older brother’s schooling.
After graduation, Gimang had a string of jobs—one of which was at a multinational company in Lapu-Lapu City, where he worked as a hardware design engineer. It was here that he fell in love with research and development (R&D) work and its many challenges.
Now, the farmer’s son is working at Power Measurements Inc. (PMI)—a high technology R&D and product assembly startup also in Lapu-Lapu City, which he helped establish with some former colleagues. PMI delivers total solutions in field instrumentations and electricity power-metering systems. Its product-development team boasts of core competencies in electronic/electrical hardware design and validation engineering, software development, mechanical design engineering, systems level test and validation and product support.
“Working there for just a few months has lifted my skills in electronic and circuit design,” he claimed.
PMI’s Founder, CEO and President Dr. William H. Hardy serves as chairman of several American National Standards Institute committees in the field.
“He loves to work here because he saw a lot of potential in Filipino engineers,” Gimang disclosed.
Pleased with DOST scholars
The very first person hired by PMI when it was established in 2014 was a DOST scholar. “He’s one of my very best people,” Hardy beamed with pride.
PMI currently has three former DOST scholars onboard, including Gimang. The other two are junior software engineers Mark Anthony Cabilo and Jedidiah Tamayo, who both work part time; Gimang works full time.
“They’re bright, they’re inquisitive, they want to learn and they aren’t afraid to tackle hard problems and figure out how to solve them. That’s what you need when you’re doing the kind of work we do. You probably always start out not knowing how to solve the problem, but you have to have a bright, inquisitive mind and really dig in, you know, go to the Internet, go to the books, figure out how to do it and get it done. They learn things very fast. That’s what you need,” Hardy said of his three employees.
Advice to scholars
Gimang agrees with his boss. “We Filipinos have deep, great potential. We are just not overconfident, but shy,” Joseph lamented. “We are shy to show it, that we have the potential.”
The young speaker encouraged the youngsters to give back to the country after they step out of the academe and carve their own careers. He emphasized that one way of giving back is to develop a technology—a product that is not just beneficial, but originally Filipino-made.
“We have the tendency to be proud,” he said. “But no matter what you achieve, no matter what you become someday, always consider yourself a student. Because we [need to] keep learning, so much learning.” S&T Media Service
“Remember, intelligence without diligence, is nothing,” he told the young members of the audience.
No doubt, Gimang’s audience was impressed and inspired by his all too familiar story of a kid who was poor, yet dreamt big, studied hard, kept on learning, and never quit, until great opportunities came along. S&T Media Service
1 comment
Being a DOST Scholar myself, this really inspired me. My father’s a taxi driver and I have 5 other siblings. I really wish that someday, all my hardwork will lead to success. Thanks for writing this heart-warming and inspiring article!