2020.01.22. On Past, Present, and Future Advisees

(Now: Relaxing a little bit after a very hectic day.) 

Before I started my last class today, two of my students, Dylan and Marvin, approached me to talk about a “very important” matter. They asked if they can pick me as their thesis adviser. And I immediately replied: “Sure!” 

The thing is, I have known these students from last term, and I know them to be diligent and hardworking. They were my students from two of my classes from last term, and in one of them, we even had to help organize an event for the department. So that’s the reason for my immediate answer (not that I’m explaining or something). 

This made me think of the process of being advisees that I and my previous students went through during our time in the University of the Philippines. 

Past: Membership Application 

In the Instrumentation Physics Laboratory, the students had to undergo a rigorous application process during their third year. The lab is careful not to call it an apprenticeship (as the other labs do), because it is, in fact, an application, a process where the student performance is graded and where there are standards that the students have to meet (exceeded, ideally). The process involves programming, experiment, technical report writing, seminar presentation, and many other stuff in between. 

The process is difficult, because: (1) the students are enrolled in their most important (and most difficult) semester, where they will start with their major courses in physics; (2) the students know very little about programming; and (3) the processes are overlapping (e.g. you are writing your technical paper by the time you are preparing your seminar talk, etc.). 

But the survival (as in, finishing-the-process survival) rate is surprisingly high, and most of the students who defer at some point apply again the following year (or, in some cases, by the time they take their graduate degrees). The performance of these “survivors” are then presented to the lab (it used to be just to the Ph.D. faculty only), and the faculty advisers take turns in picking students in an NBA draft-like style. Needless to say, I always get to pick last. 

And that is how I got these guys (please don’t kill me for posting this picture 😂). 

Original team (L-R): Yael Banasig, Mich Cirunay, myself, Anjali Tarun, and Abby Jayin.

Since I always get to pick last, I never got the best performers from the application process results or the students with the highest average grades. As such, I make sure to interview all the applicants, and pick out the things that shine about them. As I tell them eventually, I value character. Character is something that someone can’t fake, and it is something that even the best mentors can’t change. Character is what defines a person. A good mentor should be able to develop the skills and (research) capabilities of their students; but there is very little that he/she can do regarding their character.

Present: Transitional Period

When I transfered to La Salle, my first undergraduate students actually already had their advisers by the time they approached me. I was added as a co-adviser very late in their thesis subjects, and most of them really just needed that final push and motivation to get their work wrapped up. This is the period when I met JC, Audrey, Jude, Justin, and Jom, who were also my students in their complex systems classes.

Thankfully, I have graduate students who are holdovers from my previous research group. I have Camille and Nessa, who enrolled in the DLSU graduate (masters) program, and Mich, still finishing her M.S. in UP. They provided stability over this transitional period, and they continued (and even accelerated, per capita) the pace of research productivity in the group. 

Future Prospects

JC, Jude, and Jom have already finished their undergraduate theses. Audrey and Justin are now working towards the completion of theirs this term. Audrey is also happily working in the industry, and Justin is planning to pursue graduate studies abroad. I am really happy and proud of their accomplishments, and I am seeing that complex systems topics from the group are now being added into the collection of thesis works of the department.

Jude, in fact, has already enrolled in the graduate program of DLSU. He chose me as an adviser. I am very happy to note that he has now contributed towards the research output of the group, and his recent international conference presentation won for him the Best Presentation plum in his session.

Cams and Nessa are busy with M.S. studies; this phase, after all, is the most trying in the life of academics. And I am happy that Mich now joined the DLSU team as a Ph.D. student. These "old reliables" continue to support the group by their research productivity.

And, like I said, two new undergrads are set to join us soon.

I think that, moving forward, this will continue to be the mode of accepting students for my group. Students would have to approach me or my students to ask about membership. In the (near) future, I believe that we can develop methods and mechanisms to make the process more "formal" (online application? statements of purpose? etc), but I don't think it will become as stringent as the IPL process. In the end, I hope to find new students who are of good character, and hopefully help them develop into better individuals under my watch.





On the way home today, Yael, now working as a volunteer for the International Committee of the Red Cross, texted me. He asks for my free schedule for the month of January. I told him I will be free only on February. We set the date, and it's a date. 🤣

Yael already stated his intention to pursue graduate studies, possibly in DLSU. He is looking at programs in the different colleges that are related to his line of work. He is, in fact, even looking at the applied physics programs in my department, making it very likely for us to work again on an entirely different data set.

Regardless of where he will end up enrolling, however, I am really excited for him. And I am excited to meet him! That, after all, is the advantage of being an academic and research adviser. You meet wonderful students and they become your friends, your kids, for life. ■