Dr. Nandy Aldaba (BSME 1980), who served as Dean of the School of Social Sciences at the Loyola Schools from 2015 to 2021, recognizes the key role of education in our country’s development and encourages all ME alumni to take any opportunity to share their knowledge and expertise in their respective fields as a way of giving back to the community.
Why did you choose a career in education?
After finishing my PhD in Economics, I thought I needed to share the knowledge and expertise I gained with young people. Before my doctoral studies, I was already teaching part time and found it quite satisfying to see students learn economic theories and principles.
How are you able to apply the lessons you learned in ME in your work?
Economics is a highly quantitative area of studies. My ME background helped me tremendously in navigating my math, statistics, and econometrics courses in graduate school. The business and management courses I had in college gave me grounding when studying micro and macroeconomics. The study habits and discipline I needed in surviving ME were what I also utilized in completing my PhD.
What advice can you give young ME students and grads?
Education is key to our country’s development. It is also where we form leaders who will bring change and transform our country. It will be indeed worthwhile to share your expertise and knowledge with a younger generation. And of course, it is also satisfying to be able to discover knew knowledge through research in the academe. If you have an opportunity to teach, lecture, and share your knowledge and expertise in the field you are in, whether in a classroom or in a pubic seminar, do it. This is an important way of giving back!
