Topnotcher Changed Calculator Before Engineering Exam

Changing the scientific calculator is the riskiest move a civil engineering student will make before the civil engineering board exam. This civil engineering topnotcher changed calculator before engineering exam. Kids, do not try this at home!

 

Minutes before the exam, Engr. Daniel James Molina (DJ Molina), a civil engineering board exam topnotcher in the Philippines, changed his scientific calculator.

Why on earth will you do that!

This article is part two of his civil engineering topnotcher story. Click here to read part one.

Here’s the full interview with Engr. DJ Molina.

The night before the exam, what did you do?

I started lying in bed at 8 pm, but I could not sleep right away. It took me until midnight just for me to sleep.

I tried my best not to think about what would come out in the civil engineering board exam, but it never made me sleepy.

I was not that stressed the night before the exam since I went to visit some places the day before the exam just for me to relax my mind and not overthink things.

The only thing that I did the night before the exam, which was in connection with the exam, was to call my family, prepare all the necessary requirements for the exam, and pray before I closed my eyes to sleep.

 

I was in Baguio for the exam at that time, so it was really that damn cold (November 2021 is almost the Christmas season).

So instead of trying to ease up the shaking due to being nervous, it made me more nervous since my body was shaking uncontrollably due to the cold temperature hahaha.

 

During the board exam, describe your experience.

When I entered the premises of the examination center up until I took my seat, I really tried to relax my mind and just think.

Being aware of my surroundings, my breath, and my thoughts.

I prayed before I answered every part of the civil engineering board exam.

Math, Surveying, Transport Engineering

During the first day, it was the most stressful since part 1 (mathematics, surveying, and transportation engineering) was really not that good in terms of the given problems and the out-of-the-coverage problems.

Some examinees cried (literally) during and after part 1, but I managed not to burst into tears since my mind was really thinking about what to do next.

I managed to be the most focused that I was that day.

I may have guessed a lot of items during part 1, but I still managed to answer more than half of the given items correctly (about 90% sure).

I was already happy after that since we were oriented during the review that part 1 would be the “most challenging” among the three parts.

Hydraulics and Geotechnical

The second part (hydraulics and geotechnical engineering) was, I can say, the easiest among the 3.

As long as you reviewed the topics taught by review centers, you can score a perfect score (removing the erroneous problems) in that part.

The 2^nd day was not as stressful as the first day.

Tricky Part

Part 3 was more of a tricky licensure exam than a difficult one.

You just have to take extra care when solving those problems since the choices were also prepared.

I meant, that whenever you try to guess a solution, your answer may still be found in the choices.

Hence, you really need to know the correct solution for you to choose the correct answer.

Every time the questionnaire is given, I really feel the anxiety. I am telling myself, “Stop what you are thinking.

The civil engineering board exam is just about to start. Relax. You can do this. Here we go.”

But when I read the problems, I was a bit relieved because it felt, for me, like a regular college major exam and thus making me more confident in solving the problems.

Finally Done

After the civil engineering board exam, I found myself smiling just before I headed out of the examination room.

Maybe it was because I finally took the board exam after three postponements for almost two years because of the pandemic.

I just cried the day after because an instructor very close to me (in college) called to ask me about the licensure exam.

From there, I felt the disappointment of not being able to propel myself to a high scoring range in the exam, especially Part 1, since Mathematics was there.

I felt really pinned down to the ground because my “pet subject,” or the subject in which I was expected to excel, was not that okay with my performance during the licensure exam.

The “waiting game” was also challenging because it was actually one of the most extended times to wait for a CE Board exam results (11 calendar days).

I really distracted myself by me not looking into the PRC website or any other news regarding the licensure board exam.

Then on the night of Nov 26, 2021, someone called me first (while I was doing something on my computer), telling me I landed 4^th in the board exam.

I immediately told everyone in our house about the result, but I really felt nothing.

I didn’t jump for joy; I didn’t cry, shouted, “Heck yeah, I’m a Civil Engineer!” anything.

I did nothing. It took me more days just for me to finally realize that I had topped the board civil engineering board exam.

 

Why did you change your calculator?

What’s your old scientific calculator and calculator did you use during the licensure exam? 

During my review, the calculator that I used was the Canon F-789SGA unit, and I was already familiar with it.

Not until the time of the board exam, a few minutes before the exam did I just realize that my calculator display was slowly fading due to low battery.

Good thing I know how to navigate the functions of the Olympia es-570 ES PLUS calculator.

Thus I used it during the exam, knowing that I rarely used the Olympia calculator during my review days.

My College Life

 

Is engineering your first choice?

Engineering was one of the courses on the list but not necessarily my first choice.

I have considered joining the Education field (BSEd Math), the mathematics field (BS Math), and the Physics community (BS Physics).

But eventually, I chose what I think was the “optimal solution” to this decision-making problem that I have.

I chose engineering since I wanted to apply mathematics by “directly” solving real-life math problems (those with results you can really see or experience directly after solving such problems).

So I chose engineering, but I didn’t know which one.

I talked to my Father about that, and he gave me some ideas (based on his experience firsthand) about Electrical Engineering.

The same is true with my mother about Industrial Engineering.

I also knew some people in the Electronics and communications engineering field, civil engineering, etc., since I’ve met with people online (Facebook math groups – now called OMW or “Online Math World”).

I really made an excel spreadsheet and table of values by rating courses based on a given factor like “location of the school,” “schools that offer this,” “tuition fee,” “what will I be after college,” etc.

I came up with my decision and chose to enroll in civil engineering at Saint Louis College.

Is civil engineering your dream profession? Why not mechanical, electrical, or Chem?

If I can remember it well, I almost chose to enroll in electrical engineering or industrial engineering since I may have the advantage in school since I could ask my father or mother about the topics in those two.

Still, I realized, that maybe it would be better if I went to another field aside from my parents.

My High School Life

 

Describe your HS days. Your friends, parties, challenges, and aspirations.

When I entered high school, I realized that I could exert enough effort to be on top of the class.

It was also the time that I got more interested in mathematics, from shortcuts to memorizing formulas, up to the point of understanding math where formulas are already a thing in my “personal past” (lol, I dunno if this thing exists).

Since 2^nd year of high school, all I’ve ever wanted in my grades are passing grades for non-math subjects, and for math subjects, it must be almost perfect.

I’ve really set the bar for myself in mathematics. Hence, I made the cut in the roster of Math Quizzers in our high school.

I went on to compete with other schools in the Philippines. I actually became a National Finalist in the Metrobank-MTAP-DepEd Math Challenge (2014, Individual Category) and a National 3^rd placer in the UP Patalasanlahi High School Quiz Bee.

Just to share more about me being a Quiz Contest and Math enthusiast.

I actually joined Facebook Math Groups where people from different fields of study and from different places talk about Mathematical topics, which made me able to look at Mathematics from a broader perspective hence appreciating Mathematics more.

I’ve gained more confidence and knowledge not only in the math books that we have in school but also with my experience sharing math thoughts with a group of people who are also into mathematics.

I also tried joining other extra-curricular activities like Taekwondo, Youth for Christ, and some leadership activities.

In short, I am a high school kid who is curious about a lot of things but gives more importance to mathematics than any other subject.

I’m the kid who is not that good at being with a circle of friends for a long time but still enjoys high school life since I know I learn more things every day, which not all people appreciate.

What are your favorite subjects in high school?

My favorite subjects were… obviously… (hahaha)… all mathematics subjects since I was really interested in how numbers, patterns, figures, and expressions move at the speed of thought.

I was also interested in sciences like chemistry and physics, but my interest in those subjects was not like that of math since I was not too fond of memorization of a lot of words and stuff way back.

I was not able to appreciate the beauty of understanding some concepts which are non-mathematical (but I’ve improved now, hehe).

My mindset was: I would rather choose to excel in math since this is the subject where I can really see where things come from, the interconnectivity between concepts, and not just the “oh, this formula just fell from the sky.

Just accept it as true” thing. My brain just automatically rejects ideas that were not explained to me with reason.

(I was just young. I’m sorry, whoever is reading this wahahaha)

 

My Elementary Years

Describe your early school days

I was a student who never wanted to be pressured when it came to grades.

When I was in elementary, I always did whatever I wanted to do as long as I could understand what my teachers were presenting to me.

As I remember it well, my routine was to wake up early in the morning, wear that white polo and blue/black slacks and black shoes, go to school, go home, rest for a bit, then do my homework as fast as I can so that I can watch television or play some gadgets or toys that I can play.

I’d never thought of excelling in anything back then. Still, at some point, I was amazed not by infamous boy bands or new anime characters/movies but by students who excel in mathematics and/or sciences, especially when it is a quiz bee. I just enjoyed watching those competitions.

I just watch, but I’ve never tried joining in any of those competitions.

I only realized that I could excel in the classroom (honors) when I was in grade 5.

That was the time when I landed in the top 20 students in the whole batch of grade 5 students, and from there, I tried giving myself more time to study.

Still, unfortunately, I’ve never landed on the top 10 overall honors list in our graduation (since only the top 10 overall will be recognized as honor students regardless of the general weighted average).

Soon after graduation, I was told that I was actually in 11^th place.

I have also joined many other extra-curricular activities like joining the group of altar servers, watching sporting events in school, etc.

Describe your Family

My parents are both engineers.

My Mother is an Industrial Engineer, and she is from Pidigan, Abra.

I’ve known my mother as a woman with a strong personality.

My Father is an Electrical Engineer, and he is from Pugo, La Union but born in Bato, Catanduanes.

He was the one who introduced me to the world of mathematics when I was still young.

Both of my parents are like my life coaches.

They’ve always supported and guided me in achieving the goals that I set for myself.

I’m the eldest in the family, and I have two siblings.

My sister is an architecture student from the same school I graduated from, and my brother (the youngest) is a child with special needs (autism).

I was also introduced to my extended family, from first to 2^nd/3^rd cousins, both from the mother and father’s side, as early as I could understand things in my surroundings (about 3-5 years old).

Of all of my first cousins, I am the second most senior. I am so closed with my extended family that their homes may also be considered my home. We visit almost all of them at least once a year.

How big is it?

As far as I know, since I’ve known almost every one of them until my extended family (yes, up until the cousins of my father and grandfathers).

I can say it can be thought like this: If all of them are to be placed in a single area, the size maybe two barangays. ?

Are there engineers in the family?

Yes, there are. I have uncles and aunts who are engineers from my extended family.

Did someone encourage you to be an engineer? If yes, who?

It’s not more of encouragement, but my father, mother, and some of my uncles and aunts introduced to me their respective engineering professions (Civil, Industrial, Electrical, Electronics).

Still, at first, I only listened to them just for me to be aware that there are different disciplines in Engineering.

Eventually, I decided to pursue an engineering program when I was in high school. That was maybe around my 2^nd or 3^rd year.