Daniel David V. Harris BS ChE – 4 CHE 66 A: Subida Summit Seminar Report 1 Hosting Institution: Philippine Institute of Chemical Engineers – Junior Chapter Mindanao Seminar Date and Venue: March 15th, 2023 – Xavier University Little Theatre Seminar Title: ChE Subida 2023 Career Talk, Theme: Revolutionary collaboration between the A.I.G. – Academe, Industry, and Government Speaker’s Name and Affiliation(s): Doctor Hercules R. Cascon • • • • A Licensed Chemical Engineer with a Master of Engineering and Doctor of Philosophy in Environmental Engineering Currently the College of Engineering Dean in Xavier University (2015-Present) while having experience as the assistant Dean (2013-2014) Currently part of the Chemical Engineering Department Faculty Member in Xavier University Currently a Regional Technical Evaluation Committee of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) Region 10 Member The speaker: Doctor Hercules “Hercs” Cascon graduated with a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering in 1993 of which he also became a licensed chemical engineer in the same year. In said licensure examination, he placed 9th out of all takers. Additionally, Dr. Hercs obtained a master’s degree of engineering with a specialization in environment engineering from Xavier University. He then added to his academic learning by obtaining Doctorate in Philosophy (2012) in environmental engineering and biotechnology from Myongji University in South Korea. Such background speaks to the extensive time Dr. Hercs has spent inside academic institutions outside of his undergraduate course. In relation to his topic for the seminar, focusing on the career talks of chemical engineers in the academe, Dr. Hercs is currently the College Dean for the College of Engineering in Xavier University. Additionally, he is a faculty member for Xavier University’s chemical engineering department, teaching ChE-specialized subjects as well as related courses in mathematics. Previously, he also had teaching experience from Western Mindanao State University (WMSU) as a member of the Industrial & Management Engineering (IME) department. With that, Dr. Hercs has spent around 20+ years both in the academe as a student and a teacher with a chemical engineering background. This makes him a reliable expert speaker when discussing the topic of giving chemical engineering students an inside look of the life and path of a chemical engineer when entering the world of academe. The seminar: Dr. Hercs opened his discussion by outlining how professional chemical engineers can practice teaching as a profession under R.A. 9297 or the Chemical Engineering Law of 2004. Dr. Hercs then proceeded to give us an inside look into his career journey from the moment he graduated to present time. Dr. Hercs discussed that with the instability of the economy at the time he finished his studies, it took close to 2 years before he was able to find a job. He got employment from the DENR office (in the branch now known as EMB 10), under a contractual/job order, meaning he was not a regularized employee. He described that at the time, it was hard for regularization to come by due to the economy. It was here that Dr. Hercs said that he did not have any ambitions of entering the academe as a teacher. The job was rewarding for Dr. Hercs and challenged his mental capacity helping him to strive for excellence. Contrary to belief of many at the time, he was part of an office which really fought against corrupt activities and practices which he was appreciative of. With that being said, the pay at the time wasn’t the best as he was on the contractual order. Being called to help his family, he left the EMB to enter the industry, joining Del Monte. Although the pay was better at Del Monte, Dr. Hercs could not find contentment in the work he was doing for the industry as he craved the mental problems that would challenge him to be the best he could me, which led to him resigning after a while. Dr. Hercs had time to contemplate on what his position would be in the professional world and after some time of not working, was invited to teach at WMSU in the IME department so that he would have work. It was here that Dr. Hercs said he discovered how rewarding the work of teaching and helping students was as it found it as a vocation. Although the salary was back to being meager, he was back to enjoying the work he did, especially as it came with him being thrown into the unknown environment of navigating how to approach teaching a class of impressionable young adults and tailoring said teaching to fit their needs. Due to personal matters, he transferred back to Cagayan de Oro in which he now joined his alma mater as a teacher for the ChE department at Xavier University, which has now been his 2nd home ever since. Contrary to the IME department at WMSU, Dr. Hercs now got to teach subjects he had learnt before as a student, helping him to improve his teaching skills. He also finished his masteral at XU while being a teacher and eventually got the opportunity to further his learning for a PhD program in South Korea. The time as a PhD student helped Dr. Hercs grow as a person realizing that learning is a continuous process, even as a teacher. Returning to XU with his newfound knowledge, he took a step-up in work opportunities, eventually becoming the college dean. It is here that Dr. Hercs discussed how his biggest challenge being in the academe was improving on his educational leadership in the aspect of interpersonal understanding and connection with students and colleagues. Learning and improving oneself in life is indeed a never-ending process. Aside from his personal journey, Dr. Hercs gave us a look at practical aspects to consider in the academe for chemical engineers. He compared private and public university salaries on an entry-level basis. Although public ones have higher starting rates, private universities come with their perks like in Dr. Hercs case where his kids do not have to pay tuition at XU. He also outlined that a master’s degree is now a requirement for regularization as a university teacher in engineering. He also outlined how a entry-level faculty member will be subject to vastly different work and requirements than an entry-level chemical engineer in the industry. He then discussed that as chemical engineer graduates, there is no exact formal training for those that choose to enter the academe teachers. Although there are orientations, one must learn and adopt their style on their own as time goes on, while seeking advice from one’s peers. Dr. Hercs also stressed that in the ChE department, one cannot teach what they do not know. That is why one should strive to be a lifelong learner for in that sense, you continuously improve your knowledge base in the topics you are to teach while cultivating one’s unique teaching style. Dr. Hercs also emphasized the rewarding work that comes with being in the academe and how you will be able to obtain certain things money can’t buy, which might be more important down the line of one’s career. Additionally, he also showed that there is growth and potential for advancement in the academe as a career, like research positions and admin work, but also comes with the need to improve one’s academic learnings. My thoughts: It was nice seeing Dr. Hercs in another light aside from our intimidating college dean, ChE teacher, and in my case, research advisor. I gained a lot of insight about the potential of being in the academe as a chemical engineering graduate because similar to Dr. Hercs, I too currently do not have any aspirations or desire to become a teacher or instructor once I graduate. With that being said though, it was intriguing to hear the points raised by Dr. Hercs, especially about the satisfaction and fulfilment he was able to attain through his line of work in the academe. Aspects like that are important to me because I have always stressed to myself that I want to be in a position where I am enjoying myself and the work I am doing because in doing so, it won’t feel like a job to me. In my other aspects of life I try to do good by those around me because it is what gives me inner joy and peace, and envisioning the work that comes with being a teacher and helping young adults along their journey sounds like work that would do just that for me. I still do not have any further aspirations of joining the academe at this point, but the seminar definitely left an impression on me which could bear fruit down the line at a potential crossroads I reach along my professional journey. It was enjoyable also to hear about Dr. Herc’s personal journey to get to the position he is in now. As a younger student, lately I’ve been feeling like my life has been on the fast track ever since I was a kid and that maybe life was going a bit too fast for me. But I also felt like this is something that I have to continue on to help my family. I guess it was reassuring in a way to hear that someone like Dr. Hercs during his time also had his own bumps along the road to start out his career but it did not deter him for he still reached the standing he is in today. It let me know that my own journey doesn’t have to be and isn’t going to be a single road but that it’s likely I’ll have to find my own way along the journey. Sometimes it is more about the opportunities lucky to be presented to us that end up giving us the most satisfaction out of life, in comparison to the vision we had in our heads of what our journey was going to be like. The personal learnings of Dr. Hercs during his journey as a teacher, but also as someone in the industry and government sectors hit home also in the sense that it’s important that the work, we are part of in the future is something that doesn’t make us feel stagnant or static. We should strive for work which is constantly challenging us and enabling us to be better versions of ourselves as practicing chemical engineers, regardless of the field of work we are in. At the same time, the challenges and opportunities that come are way won’t always be there and don’t get presented to everyone, so we should invite them with open arms for we will only know where it takes if we go down said journey. Stressing the goal of being a lifelong learner and not being content with the current knowledge we have accumulated was also important for me to hear. Sometimes we as students think, or even hope, that it is the case that once we leave college and academic institutions, that we no longer have to study anymore or further our learning, but this is nonprogressive thinking which should be expelled from our thoughts. Lastly, it was impactful to hear Dr. Hercs discuss that we shouldn’t change who we are or our inner nature during our line of work, or to conform ourselves to a certain idea of a professional that those around us what us to be or we might think others want us to be. Rather, it is important that we let our true personality be the growing centre stone for our cultivation of becoming the best possible professional chemical engineer we can be. In doing so, we stick true to ourselves while improving said self at the same time. I learnt that we need to foster our growth as a student, leader/teacher, person, and in our case engineer, in every step of our lives, never settling for how far we’ve grown but continuing to strive to grow further.
