MARK Anthony Guiao from Central Luzon won the gold medal in Mechanical Engineering Design-Computer Aided Design category of the 11th Association of Southeast Asian Nations Skills Competition held September 19-29 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
During a recognition ceremony organized by the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority on Monday, Guiao shared he will never forget all the experiences he had in the competition.
Guiao just graduated last March from Eastwoods Professional College Bataan. He said he just had about six months of preparation/training for the competition.
“I visualized the things that I would do. I created a strategy which I could use in case I won’t be able to finish the test,” he noted.
Guiao received a P100,000 cash prize from Tesda on Monday. He said he didn’t get any cash reward in Kuala Lumpur, but just the medal.
The 22-year-old BS Computer Engineering graduate said he has learned to push for excellence, and aim higher, realizing that by doing so, he will be successful.
His advice to Filipino teammates was to manage their time wisely. “Never give up. Just push a little bit harder,” he added.
In an interview with the Philippines News Agency, Guiao said he suffered from mental block during the last day of the competition.
“I found it hard to analyze drawings on the last day. I felt like I cannot do the test,” he revealed.
Guiao cited that too much noise from the visitors and those at the venue was the main reason why he experienced mental block.
He told his coach about the problem. “My coach and Mr. [Elmer] Talavera [head of Philippine delegation] guided me and gave me their support,” Guiao stressed.