Engineer Topnotcher
This Engineer Topnotcher Used To Be An Easygoing Student In College
Contrary to popular belief, success isn’t just for the hard-working and dedicated.
Lazy people can still be successful, too.
It’s like one in a million… you must be really, really lucky!
Such is the case for Engr. Dlord Mc Dhevic Rosario, who admits that he was an easygoing and unmotivated student back in his college days.
But luckily, he decides to bounce back from his bad habits and be one of the October 2019 Electronics Engineer Topnotchers.
The willpower of an engineer is common to engineering students and engineering professionals.
They fail, they stand up, they do not give up!
Dlord originally dreamed of becoming a pilot.
He wanted to travel the world, shuttle commercial and people, discover various cultures and find new opportunities.
But since they couldn’t afford that course, his grandfather, who was the main provider of his education, suggested that he take BS in Electronics and Communication Engineering instead.
The young engineer student had no idea what the course was all about, though, so when he learned from his grandpa that it revolved around gadgets, he immediately agreed to take it up.
After all, he has been fascinated by gadgets since the day he got interested in playing video games.
Just like any young engineer, they wanted to be Tony Stark!
However, when the future engineer student finally got in the University of Pangasinan as a BSECE student, he immediately learned that the course was so much more than just gadgets.
As an engineering student, Dlord was the typical easy-go-lucky guy. Taking it nice and slow, a walk in the park in the middle of the zebra lane of SLEX.
He always had difficulty attending his first classes on time, and no, it wasn’t because his class schedule was early in the morning.
We are talking about mid-day… and the young engineer is still late, which makes him a great candidate for the “tardiness of the year award.”
Even if the class starts at three in the afternoon, the aspiring engineer from San Carlos City, Pangasinan will still be half an hour late.
Dlord was also pretty lazy when it came to doing his requirements.
He hated having to spend too much time on doing a project and would typically just do the bare minimum.
He believes in the motto, “If I don’t have to do it, then I won’t. If I have to do it, then I’ll make it quick.”
The same thing goes for preparing for quizzes and exams.
He would always cram the night before, and sometimes when he felt confident enough, he wouldn’t study anymore.
He would just sleep or play the night away.
On the day of exams, his mindset was that the faster he could finish the test, the more free time he had to enjoy.
So the moment he got the test papers, he would immediately try to finish the questions as soon as possible.
This strategy of his almost always worked, and he would still get above-average scores.
But one time, after his midterm exams in Advanced Algebra, he was shocked to learn that he barely passed the subject.
He was confident that his quizzes and midterm exams all have passing scores, so when he saw his low grade on the student portal, he initially thought that it was just a typographical error or a bug in the system.
He immediately decided to ask his professor about the mark, and that was when he learned that he actually failed most of his quizzes and the midterm exam because of his carelessness.
He knew how to solve the problems, but somewhere along the solution, he forgot to include terms and eventually inputted the wrong values on his calculator, all because he just wanted to finish the tests quickly.
Many of his teachers and classmates said that he is actually a smart kid who will be unstoppable if only he put more effort into his endeavors.
But being the apathetic student that he is, Dlord never listened to them and continued his “self-destructive habit.”
After all, if he still makes it to the Dean’s List once in a while, he found nothing wrong with how he studies.
However, Dlord finally faced the consequences of his actions during his last year in college when he almost failed one subject because of his tardiness!
Thankfully, he was still lucky enough to get away from getting an FDA (Failed Due to Absences) and acquire a passing grade, but he admits that he highly discourages this kind of habit, saying that you can never go wrong with giving it your all.
When he finally graduated in April 2019, Dlord wasn’t originally planning on taking the board exam.
He shared that he wanted to take it easy and rest for a few months before applying for a job or scholarship for a master’s degree program.
He changed his mind, though, when he learned that all of his classmates were already set on taking the boards.
Since he wanted to spend more time with them, he just went with the flow and enrolled in a review center, too.
However, he knew deep down that he would have trouble preparing for the biggest exam in his life, especially with his attitude towards studying.
But despite this, he wanted to challenge himself and test the limits of his abilities.
For the first few months of review, Dlord prepared diligently for the board exam, studying smarter than ever before and motivating himself to do better than when he was in college.
But motivation could only take him so far.
Came August, when the TI10 tournament came up, he started to slip up and dedicated most of his time watching the games and playing hours of Tekken 7, NBA2k20, or Jump Force on his roommate’s laptop.
He admitted that he even took one of his pre-board exams with a hangover.
When the actual board exam finally came, it wasn’t a surprise that he found it rather difficult.
He still did his best, though, and at the end of every test, he assessed his chances of passing.
He was confident that he answered enough questions to get him on the list of board passers, but he had doubts about landing a spot in the Top 10 as his scores didn’t look good enough.
However, several days later, he was shocked to see his name both on the list of board passers and on the Top 10, specifically in the 5th place with a rating of 90%, Whoa!
He couldn’t hold back his excitement and immediately shared the news with his friends before thanking God for the unexpected gift.
My Engineering Student Life
Why did you choose this course? Who or what was your inspiration?
Originally, I wanted to be a pilot, but we can’t afford the education for that.
My grandfather, who is the one mainly paying for my education, suggested that I take the course ECE.
I had no idea what it was that, so I asked him what it was all about, and he said it was about gadgets.
In my mind, I was like, “Okay. Cool.
I love gadgets.
Smartphones, Playstation, Xbox, Gameboy, PC, laptop – you know, things that I can’t afford.” and agreed to enroll in that course.
And boy was my grandfather wrong.
(Grandpa knows best!)
What are your favorite subjects in your entire engineering study? How about least liked subjects?
My favorite subjects are mostly math subjects. My least favorite subjects are the major subjects – Electronics and Communications.
I’m not really fond of reading big thick heavy books that’s why I didn’t like them.
Have you had any subject failures or disappointing academic performance to the very least? How did you cope?
During the second semester of my freshman year, I almost failed the midterms on the subject of Advance Algebra.
My grade was above the passing grade by one. When I saw my midterm grade on the student portal, I had a mini heart attack.
You know that feeling when you touch your pocket and can’t feel your phone? It was like that.
I was confident on my quizzes and my exam so I thought of possible reasons, like maybe my professor had a typo while encoding my grades or there was a bug in the system.
I asked my professor about it, and she showed me why I got that grade. I laughed at myself after knowing the reason.
I failed most of my quizzes and exam. I failed not because I didn’t know how to solve the problems.
I know how to solve them but my final answers were incorrect. Somewhere along the solution, some terms will not make it to the next line of the solution,
I inputted the wrong values on my calculator and solved problems that were slightly different from the given are the reasons I almost failed that midterm.
I think I was trying to finish the exam as soon as possible, that’s why I was so careless at that time.
That is when I started to believe in the saying “Walang bobo sa math, malas lang.”
What is your most difficult and most painful experience during college life? What are your greatest struggles while in college?
My biggest struggle is my illness, called laziness.
It even came to a point where I almost failed a subject during my last year in college due to my tardiness.
I always have trouble attending my first class on time. My first class could be 3 pm and I’ll still manage to be 30 minutes late for it.
I’m lazy but somewhat still a little responsible. If I don’t have to do it, I won’t. If I have to do it, I’ll make it quick. I always do the bare minimum.
For example, if there’s a quiz or a test coming up, then I’ll cram the night before it, or if sometimes I feel confident enough, then I’ll sleep or play the night away.
I was lucky enough to get away with things without suffering the consequences, but I highly discourage this kind of self-destructive habit. You can never go wrong with giving it your all.
Any topnotcher study tips or tricks that you think others should emulate from you?
Study smart. Back in college, I try to predict the questions in the exams.
I have a low prediction rate, but hey it’s better than nothing. Also, practice your looks fam technique, trust me it will be very useful in the board exam.
What is the best engineering school advice that you can give to other students?
It’s okay to cry.
My Board Exam Experience
What were the greatest struggles that you experienced while preparing for the board exam? What did you do to overcome them?
Originally, I didn’t want to take the board exam.
I wanted to take it easy after graduation and rest for a few months before looking for a job or applying for a scholarship for a master’s degree program, but I found out that all of my classmates were going to take it, so I went along with the flow.
I also wanted to spend a little more time together with them.
Knowing my personality and attitude, I knew I would have trouble preparing for the board exam so I had to motivate myself.
Many times in my life, I’ve been told that I would be unstoppable if I just put more effort into my endeavors.
So I decided to test the limits of my abilities.
But motivation can only take you so far. It comes and goes.
It will get you started, but discipline is the key to continued progress.
After months before the exam, I started slipping up.
My time for review took a huge hit that started in August when the TI10 tournament came up, I would always watch the games.
I would spend a couple of hours playing Tekken 7, NBA2k20, or Jump Force on my roommate’s laptop.
I took one of my preboard exams with a hangover.
All of these blunders could have been avoided if I had learned self-discipline during the earlier days of my life.
Did you enroll in a center for your review? Do you recommend doing so? Which one did you go to?
Yes, I did. I recommend doing so. I enrolled at PERDGE (PERC Review Center and Smart EDGE Review Center).
They offer great discounts to national quizzers, that’s why I was able to afford two review centers.
How did you find the board exam? Easy, average, or difficult?
I found the board exam pretty normal.
It was what I expected it to be, difficult, that’s why you need months to prepare for it.
What were your expectations after you took the board exam and before the results were out? Did you have a feeling that you would be at the top?
After the board exam, I had no doubt in my mind that I would pass the exam but on being a topnotcher?
Not so much hope for that.
After each subject, my hopes of landing a top spot for the exam gradually decreased.
I counted the answers that I’m sure of, but they didn’t look good.
What did you do the first minute you discovered you topped the board exam?
On the night of the results, my friends and I were at a milk tea shop.
I have notifications on this website that posts PRC exam results.
While scrolling through my phone, I suddenly received a notification from the said website “RESULTS ARE OUT!”.
I tapped on that notification as fast as I could and then immediately went to the List of Topnotchers, but the list was empty.
I tried refreshing the site a few times, but no changes.
I went to the List of Passers, and there were a bunch of names, so I looked for my name and the name of my friends and classmates.
Sadly not all of us made it.
I went back to the List of Topnotchers, and it was not empty anymore.
My heart skipped a beat, then pounded so loudly I could hear it.
I started to look at the list from number one, and each time I went up a number without seeing my name, my heartbeat kept getting faster.
When I finally saw my name, I jumped out of my seat due to the excitement and my friends asked me what was wrong, so I showed them my phone and we all started hugging and screaming without a care about the people around us.
After calming ourselves, we went back to our seats then I prayed to thank God.
Who do you owe your success to?
Of course, to God, He supplied everything in my life.
Then to my parents, family, friends, classmates, mentors, and engineering faculty from UPang, who actually believed that I am so much more than a lazy, apathetic unmotivated carefree guy.
And to myself for doing such an amazing job.
What incentives did you get from your university and review center after your board exam success?
I received cash incentives. I also got some good job offers from companies.
Share your most effective study habits.
Study during the time you are most comfortable with. I am a night person so I love burning the midnight oil.
I usually study after dinner until 4 am. The best technique to learn anything is the Feynman Technique. Don’t forget the looks fam.
Give 5 important tips for future board exam takers who aim to become topnotchers.
1. Prayer and Labor
2. Go beyond, Plus Ultra
3. Self discipline > Inspiration + Motivation
4. Mamba Mentality
5. Looks Fam Gaming
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