Jonas Marie Dumdum

"My family believes that the best thing you could share in the world is knowledge. I take it one step further and say that sharing knowledge is the hardest currency to crack, but the best currency to develop. The first time that I had a chance to mentor someone was a friend in my undergrad years that struggled with her General Chemistry and failed it four times. She was desperate to move forward, but did not know what to do. I offered help, by first asking her how she knew the subject despite four tries, but she could only recall half ot the whole subject matter. So, I devised a plan to get her to pass. She did with a grade of 2.75, which is more than enough for her to move forward. Fast forward to 2018, and I became a mentor to two high school students from San Pablo, courtesy of SIDHI. Though it was challenging, I did my best to help them out, even meeting them to see how they wanted to start their SIP. Both experiences made me believe that mentoring future scientists is something I could really pursue despite not being in a lab. The need to guide the future Filipino scientific intellectuals to the best way possible right now is vital. These up and coming problem-solvers will need to be guided though the present and future risks and opportunities that we have in the short and medium term. Helping these kids will help us lead the nation to its proper course, and mentoring children is a big leap forward."