Molecular [Musings’] Bond with Sir Arvin

The BS Biochemistry Juniors just had their first examination on Physical Chemistry I today, and sorrow is an understatement to the sleepless nights, the books read, the video lectures watched, the word problems practiced, the prayers whispered under their breaths -- to the efforts which just could not make it through the cold, unyielding, output-based assessment.

It has been more than ELEVEN hours since the exam ended, but it is the sole thing that has occupied my whole day so far, like a dense gas made up of large molecules which could not effuse out of the tiny hole somewhere in my head, the same hole to which my retention has long escaped and mingled with the atmosphere, like friends seeing each other again after n months of community quarantine.

And so with a deep sigh (still about real gases, *sigh*), the only question left to ask, after all energy has been exhausted to what-ifs versus convincing myself that the chance has flown turbulently away from me, is this: ‘Are our profs always this good?!’ Or, as we say it in our jargon, ‘Ugh, their minds?!’

Luckily for us, we have an UNO reverse card! What if we administer the questions this time, and let our professor answer them? Prepare the standard temperature and pressure, remember the conversion factors, verify the dimensional analysis, and check the significant figures. The tables have turned! Molecular Musings has prepared the questions, and a dear professor of ours responded to all of them! No skips! Just like premium. Do we give him full points? Let’s find out.

Photo from Arvin Marasigan

Sir Arvin Marasigan is a chemistry professor in the Department of Physical Sciences and Mathematics (DPSM), College of Arts and Sciences (CAS), University of the Philippines Manila (UPM). He was our Analytical Chemistry I (Chem 29) Laboratory and Inorganic Chemistry (Chem 111) professor, and is currently our Physical Chemistry I (Chem 161) Laboratory professor. (Nope, he is not the reason for our Saturday sorrow). Moreover, if Sir Arvin Marasigan were a molecule of gas, he would have had a short mean free path, as he was also a UPM BS Biochemistry student, just like us! Can you feel the intermolecular forces of attraction? Nope, that is not Question 1. Here it is:

Molecular Musings (MM): When you were a student, how was it like being in the field of BS Biochemistry?

Sir Arvin Marasigan (SAM): It was not easy. I was the sole Biochemistry shiftee of 2010. To catch up, I had to wish that some of my batchmates would fail (I know, it's selfish) so that DPSM would open my required subject not usually offered for that sem. I didn't make much friends until I had a class with the lower batch.

I was an average student. I was doing well in Physical Chemistry and Analytical Chemistry. However, I had a hard time in Organic Chemistry -- even got a 4.0 from Sir V. Biochemistry is another world on its own. I had to get away again from my calculation-comfort-zone and start memorizing pathways. Still, my interest leaned on molecular biology, and decided that that's what I wanted to do for my thesis.

Oh, what I would give to have those Physical Chemistry and Analytical Chemistry skills! Fellow BS Biochemistry students, are you reading this?! Are you thinking what I’m thinking? Aren’t we like bacteria, still in the ropes to include a gene in our plasmids for survival against our common catch-22 (Note: Guess what’s the 22nd letter of the English alphabet)? Just kidding! And since we are talking about majors, are you an Analytical Chemistry Apologist, a Biochemistry Believer, a Organic Chemistry Campaigner, or a Physical Chemistry Promoter? Or someone who can’t be bothered to decide because you are just trying to pass all of them? Because, same.

MM: What was your favorite BS Biochemistry course and why?

SAM: Physical Chemistry. For me, it's the perfect mix of abstraction and real life application. Calculations and analyses are hard but what's important is these are what I enjoy the most.

Fellow Physical Chemistry students, let us hope to feel the genuine appreciation for the elegance of Physical Chemistry as much as Sir does! It does not have to be today, though, my aching friends, but soon. And may we also find the ability to enjoy our majors for this semester. Anyway, so much for rubbing salt in the wound. Here, rehydrate yourselves from the tears you shed with tea.

MM: Do you have any experiences you would like to share from when you were a student? And now as a professor?

SAM: Some of my experiences as a student was when DPSM Week was canceled in my senior year. It was sad because as seniors, it was our last chance to win. Another was when my ex-bf and I were in the middle of a fight while I was writing my thesis. I chose my thesis. No, that is not why we broke up hehe. Some of my experiences as a professor was in my first sem of teaching, I was asked by a superior to cut my top-knot hair as it is “informal.” I was like ‘c’mon we're in UP’. But what can I do, I'm just a newbie. I'm sporting the exact hair this sem. Wala na siyang magagawa ngayong online class hehe. Another was when lab classes were held in GAB Roofdeck since RH labs were undergoing renovation at that time. It was a disaster. Glassware was falling from the tables due to strong winds, and we only had makeshift iron stands from tall chairs so lab gowns were caught on fire because of the poor setup. On the bright side, it's cooler up there than in our hell-blazed labs.

I do not want to jinx it, but I hope that we, and especially our freshies, can experience the DPSM Week next semester. Let us join forces and evict Miss Rona from Bahay ni Kuya! The power is in your hands. Send EVICT RONA to 2366, applicable to any networks! Another deep sigh, if only things were this easy. But since the spectacle of digital short films, bedazzling performances from students and professors alike, and the intense sports tournaments are still a few months away (yes, we are claiming it), let us just stan Sir’s man bun for now!

And since Sir mentioned it, oh, what I would give to go back to the ‘hell-blazed labs’ in 3rd floor Rizal Hall in exchange for the 24/7 eyes-on-screen watch-me-mix watch-me-weigh-weigh virtual laboratory.

MM: If you could go back to one moment when you were a student, what moment would that be?

SAM: DPSM Week hustle and bonding with classmates. 🙂

Let our response be: ‘Same’. Anyway, life will have to proceed as we are hoping for a better COVID-19 response. We have to keep on struggling with our academic endeavors and other things which keep us busy as we accept that there is no ‘normal’ we are going back to, and as we seek a positive change to our current situation. This is not an ad, but, what keeps a Sir Arvin Marasigan going?

MM: How does your experience as a student differ with your experience as a professor?

SAM: It's very different. As a prof, I have a lot of power in my hands. I have to make sure that I am very responsible in handling that power. My philosophy as a teacher is that I'm always trying to put myself in my students' shoes. I try to be the teacher I wanted to have when I was a student. On the other hand, similar to being a student, I still have to study thoroughly. I'm considered very young for this profession. As they say, "Isang basa lang ang lamang ko sa students." That changes as I teach a subject multiple times and master that particular subject. But if I'm offered higher chem subjects I haven't taught before, I still have to review them further and deeper, and anticipate all kinds of questions the students will ask in class. It's a challenge but it's a room for growth.

MM: Do you have any current research you are working on? If so, what is it about?

SAM: No current research. My published research was my undergraduate thesis on the metagenomic analysis of the bacteria found on the Pasig riverbed, with Dr. Carrillo, Ms. Arlou Angeles, and Kenny Ko. Simply put, we extracted the DNA from the riverbed soil, identified the bacteria, then related their presence to the environmental situation in that particular riverbed site.

Fellow Microbiology students, coronavirus is out, Krona plot is in!

MM: If you had a choice to make a research about anything, regardless of budget, time constraints, and the like, what would it be and why?

SAM: Maybe it's something DPSM and UP wouldn't want to hear, but I've moved away from "hard" science research. This will cost me my tenure, but this is what I love. My current research interest is Chemistry Education. If the luxury of money and time is available, I would like to research innovative pedagogies in teaching laboratory class. Currently, we're following a recipe-type lab instruction. But what if the students were to create their own methods? To what extent will the lab instructor intervene? What form of assessment will be most effective? These are some of the questions I'd like to answer.

This is actually interesting! Science must not only be interested in contributing to and developing the body of knowledge, but also in effectively communicating and teaching concepts, theories, and applications to fellow scientists, to students, and to people from different walks of life. To explore the various ways in which the students can immerse themselves more, and in which the instructor can impart his skills more efficiently in laboratory classes, is also an important path to take! We support you, Sir!

MM: How are you as a chemistry professor in the midst of pandemic?

SAM: I'm privileged to have a good internet connection and multiple devices, but I'm still having a hard time. You have to mix your personal responsibilities at home, and your work. It's only been a month but it feels like it’s been a sem. It's extra stressful to teach a lecture when it's like you're just talking to yourself. I don't want to force my students to turn on their cameras. Don't get me started on the lab. The students are deprived of the skills they need to master inside the laboratory, new equipment to try, and the real-time collaboration with their fellow students. I'm not averted to online learning; I'm actually an advocate of blended learning given an adjustment of the curriculum. What I don't want is this purely online setup. #LigtasBalikEskwela

The struggle is real, folks, the struggle is real. And we are with you on this one, Sir! We are just as worried as you are about the laboratory skills we are supposed to learn and improve with. While technology is a very convenient tool to incorporate in our studies, the firsthand experience is still, by far, the more advantageous method of learning. However, on top of all of these, the safety of everyone under this health crisis is still the primary concern.

MM: What can we expect from Sir Arvin Marasigan in the future?

SAM: I will make sure to always remind myself of my student and teaching experiences when I become the DepEd secretary or CHED chairperson in the future.

Wow! With such a vision, aren’t we privileged to be students of Sir?

Going through the answers, although it is hard to imagine, we saw that Sir Arvin Marasigan’s life as a student is relatable. As a student with a secret life as a pagliaccio, who only gazes at their stellar batchmates who appear to have the capability to spell out their own horoscopes if they want to, with their wise decision-making and seemingly figured out lives, isn’t it a little reassuring to really get a glimpse beyond just the factual statement that our professors were students once? To venture on the possibilities that they also had sleepless nights, books which they may or may not have opened when necessary, exams which challenged them in a similar manner that their exams challenge us now? Thinking of Sir Arvin Marasigan as our professor today, isn’t it just the littlest bit reassuring that despite this time of uncertainty with respect to our futures, we can comfort ourselves with the hope that, however way we are striving right now for whatever reason, it will all turn out into something fruitful in the end? We may sometimes ask right now, in the present, what these are all for, but isn’t it just the littlest bit reassuring that although we struggle together under this pandemic, we can still continue on planning what’s ahead of us? Anyway, before these questions induce tears enough to be computed for its flow rate, we have to thank Sir Arvin Marasigan for giving Molecular Musings the opportunity to play the reverse card. Thank you, Sir. We give you full points!