MANILA, Aug 4 — Studying abroad might sound glamorous to some people. While it is indeed a great opportunity, not everyone realizes that foreign students have to deal with some battles while pursuing their dreams.
Last Thursday (Aug. 3), the Australian Embassy of the Philippines gave Dr. Maria Corazon De Ungria the Alumni of the Year Award during the 2017 Australian Alumni Excellence Awards held in Manila.
This award recognizes an alumna who has shown visionary leadership and best practice, and who has made an outstanding contribution to his/her profession or industry.
In 1988, De Ungria went to Australia to study. She was there for 11 years and completed a Master of Science at the Macquarie University, and a PhD in Microbiology at the University of New South Wales.
Today, De Ungria works as a University researcher and scientist in the University of the Philippines-Diliman. The Australian Embassy recognized her role in encouraging the effective use of DNA evidence by the Supreme Court.
3 challenges
De Ungria was a graduate of the Philippine Science High School System or Pisay before she went to Australia.
In an interview with the Philippine News Agency, she said her goal was to be happy with what she’s doing.
However, living and studying abroad has been challenging for her.
For one, she had to deal with the emotional challenge of being away with her family. “It was one major challenge,” she said, adding that the support network she was accustomed to suddenly was gone.
To cope up with this, De Ungria wrote letters to her parents every week. She narrated that every Sunday, she would write a letter on a piece of paper and send it via Australia’s Aerogramme.
Also, she has learned to expand her definition of “family”, by including very close friends and friends who are experiencing the same challenge, in her circle.
“These two things helped me to cope up. Because otherwise, I would only think that I am so sad,” De Ungria pointed out.
The second challenge was her not being familiar with the environment; and being pulled out from her comfort zone.
“Basically, it was either I have to survive, or go back,” she explained.
She cited that she had a hard time dealing with the language difference. She could not (fully) understand the pronunciation, for instance, during her first year.
“I would attend lectures and I would only have half page of notes because I could not understand the lecturer,” she narrated. De Ungria also noticed the difference in the way Filipinos and Australians communicate. According to her, Filipinos have the difficulty to say “no” because they don’t want to offend, unlike Australians who are more straightforward.
“But that (challenge) made me realize that if I really want something, I would go and conquer my fear; take the challenge,” she emphasized.
The third challenge for her was to remain true to herself. De Ungria explained that a person can get influenced by many social factors, which could lead that person to lose his/her identity and forget his/her values.
“Because one wants to be part of something; because people want to fit in,” she continued.
The scientist admitted that she gave up some of her values so she could fit in. She noted, however, that people are always evolving.
“Just like the Microsoft Word’s ‘track changes’, tomorrow you’ll be a better version of yourself,” she cited.
With those challenges, the most important lesson she learned while studying abroad was to believe in the triumph of the human spirit, in the goodness of people.
“Every single time I felt I was going to give up, I reach out. If you have real friends who appreciate you for who you are, then they (make a way) to have somebody to lend you a hand. The goodness of people and your struggles will triumph all those challenges,” she remarked.
She also learned to take one day at a time, and that one has to find other ways/paths in order for him/her to reach the goal.
“Find other ways. Don’t give up,” she noted.
What does it take to be the best alumni?
The awardee emphasized, “You need to be passionate with what you’re doing. You need to fall in love with what you’re doing. Because if you don’t love it, you will not do it.”
She also cited as an example that in her team of young researchers and students, she doesn’t tell them to stay up late to finish an experiment, and noted that she’s “not the boss”.
“Because we are partners. We collectively decide, hear both sides of the issue. When people realize that, they (will start) sharing their passion, (knowing that) we have the same goal,” she said.
Emphasizing that strategy, she said that students come to realize that Science has a purpose. “They come to realize that we’re not doing an experiment because I told them so, but because the experiment has a purpose,” added De Ungria.
She stressed that, “If you love your work, that’s so infective. If you love your work, people will see that it’s oozing out of you.”
Meanwhile, the Alumni Excellence awardee said she did not expect to win because she was not familiar with the network, and because the other nominees are also deserving.
Currently, she has some research projects funded by the Department of Science and Technology. But now that she has won the award, she said she would like to explore on possibilities/collaborations where there were common passions or objectives among people. (PNA)
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