Engr. Andrea May T. Caguete
You may have seen her in the news, or heard her talk on the radio. In the male-dominated engineering field, Engr. Rhea Caguete is making waves as the spokesperson for the Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines (IEMOP). She has spoken at multiple conferences about the Electricity Spot Market, introduced the Philippine energy industry before the delegates of Association of Power Exchange in Brussels, Belgium, and even butted heads with Senator Manny Pacquiao by countering his allegations against the IEMOP.
Engr. Caguete definitely radiates #GirlBoss energy. She has a Masters degree in Electrical Engineering, is currently a student at the UP College of Law, and the acting manager of Corporate Communications Divisions in IEMOP. But none of these things were achieved overnight.
She admits that she wasn’t the best student back in the day, and that she has faced a lot of rejections throughout her engineering career, but everything she achieved, she got through hard work and focus. As she says, “The key to some degree of success as a student and as a future engineer is to just be persistent. If you fail today, try again another day. To achieve relevance in any career path, the first step is always to overcome that fundamental fear (of failure).” Engr. Caguete posits that this mindset was cultivated through the culture of UPLB DEE, which constantly focused on continuous growth and development, and not being ashamed of nor dwelling on failure.
Her advice for current BS Electrical Engineering students echoes this sentiment. “Be persistent! Know and capitalize your strengths and assets. Evaluate your weaknesses and learn how to eliminate or mitigate them.”
However, at the end of the day, Engr. Caguete would also like to reassure the future engineers to “always forgive yourself for your mistakes and failures. They do not define you. Love yourself even on your worst days.”
The DEE Featured Alumni series is a series of articles that showcase the successes and accomplishments of the many BSEE alumni from UPLB. | Aryan Paula Manalo, November 2021