Taking Risks and Finding Motivation: A Journey to Pursuing Graduate Studies in Fluid Mechanics

It all started with an opportunity.

It was the year 2013, I was currently a 4th-year Mechanical Engineering student when I received the news that I got selected and awarded a scholarship to be an exchange student for a year at a Japanese university

I would later come back to that university for my graduate studies, and now I’m still a part of Tohoku University.

That exchange program called the Junior Year Program in English (JYPE), opened me to the interesting world of research. My first step towards scientific conquest began with my undergraduate thesis on a new air-conditioning technology, which I started at Tohoku University and was later continued at my home university, MSU-IIT.
I won the College of Engineering Best Undergraduate Research Award for this study. I believe it was my first taste of scientific recognition.

That being said, I knew in my heart that I wanted to pursue graduate studies. But I got stuck with questions, like what field to choose and which university to attend. My journey to finding the answers to these questions proved to be much of a life lesson that I think would be best shared in person (perhaps over a glass of beer). But in a nutshell, I can say that not everything will always work under your own terms, but if you TAKE A RISK, it may turn out to be BETTER than what you expected.

I went back to my contacts during JYPE and was reminded of the MOST interesting (not to mention madly difficult) class I have ever taken: FLUID MECHANICS. I ended up contacting the professor of that class, with whom I shared my interest in looking for a graduate program. He remembered my enthusiasm for the subject and responded with an offer to join his laboratory. That was the start of the amazing things that followed.

This is Motivation Monday, I would like to tell you one of my takeaways in my journey: Motivation doesn’t appear in thin air, but rather, IT IS ENCOUNTERED.

Mga ka Pinoy Scientist, I’m Clint (@ceejcoo) your resident Pinoy Scientist and fluid dynamicist for this week.

I will share more of my experience and works in the days to come! Let’s stay motivated!