A bright future looms for mechanical eng’g board top notcher

Michael Ray Sumalinog Wenceslao of the University of San Carlos is finishing a master’s degree and dreaming of going on to a doctorate.
(CDN PHOTO/TONEE DESPOJO)

After landing fourth place in the nationwide mechanical engineering board exam, 21-year-old Michael Ray Sumalinog Wenceslao keeps busy on a project that could help the environment.

He’s taking his master’s degree degree in the University of San Carlos under a scholarship of the Department of Science and Technology.

“My thesis is about pyrolisis which involves extracting diesel fuel from plastic bottles. We not only create an alternative source of diesel but we can help the environment,” Wenceslao said.

Pyrolisis is a form of treatment that chemically decomposes organic materials by heat in the absence of oxygen.

Looking ahead, Wenceslao said he hopes to be able to financially support  his family in Leyte and then pursue a doctorate degree.

The Ormoc City native, a USC graduate, remembers the wrath of typhoon Yolanda in November 2013. Their family house wasn’t spared.

“Gikan pako naka-experience og linog adto, unya ni-uli ko kay na extend among sembreak. Pero na stuck man hinoon ko sa amo-a kay tungod sa bagyong Yolanda (I had just experienced an earthquake  in Cebu City in October. When  I  went home for the  extended semester break, I got stuck in Ormoc because of supertyphoon Yolanda),” he said.

He said he witnessed glass windows being smashed and their roof blown away by Yolanda’s strong winds.

His father Marvelito, a policeman was out on duty that night in Tacloban City.

With his elder brother working as a nurse in Cebu City, Wenceslao took on the role of guardian  to their two younger siblings.

Complacent
“It was a difficult time. We had a hard time  finding food and water. We had to line up to receive our ration of water),” he said in Cebuano.

In his early college years, Wenceslao was a casual   student.

A pop dancer and online gamer who loved to play DOTA (Defense of the Ancients), Wenceslao said he was complacent during his first two years, often coming late to class and flunking one of his subjects.

As the classes  became more difficult, he said he got fascinated and  loved solving math problems.

“Lingaw man itoon gud labi na lisod kaayo imong i-solve.  Mas machallenge ka ba nga kwaon jud ang answer.  Fulfilling.”  (I enjoyed studying  especially the difficult problems. You get more challenged when you get the right answer.)

When he graduated last year, he was advised to take the board exam in March so he can attend review classes from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. at the USC-Main campus,  a 30-minute ride from  his lodging house near  USC-Talamban Campus.

On the ride there,  he would  review the formulas so when he reached class, he was prepared.

“Di ko ganahan nga wa koy bag-ong makatunan ug masabtan kada adlaw sa review.  (I’m not satisfied if I don’t learn something new everyday during the review.)”

Before taking the board exam, Wenceslao said he visited for the first time the Marian shrine in Simala, Sibonga town, southern Cebu to pray for good performance in the  tests.

“You should remember that there are  people better than you and that you should strive hard not be complacent,” he said in Cebuano.

Wenceslao  landed in 4th place out of 739 mechanical engineering graduates.  He came after Chernan Lepon Madugay of the University of Cebu, who ranked third.

“I just thought about making my parents proud so I worked hard for it,” Wenceslao said.