MAGIS: to do more, to be more- for Christ and our neighbor.”
It is a call to go beyond ourselves, a call to heroism.”
– excerpts from the Foreword of Fr. Bienvenido Nebres, SJ for the book “T0 GIVE AND NOT TO COUNT THE COST” Ateneans Inspiring Ateneans 1859- 2009 as part of the Ateneo’s 150 years of Celebrating Excellence, Deepening Spirituality and Building the Nation… ‪#‎100HappyDays‬ ‪#‎WhyVcoachServes‬ Day 35 (posted on Facebook March 19, 2014)

Today is my dad’s death anniversary and it is inspiring to find this Ateneo book (To give and not to count the cost) on my shared AGSB work table. For the longest time, I have searched for a way to describe how my dad, and the way he lived his heroic life, was and remains my role model and inspiration. My Tita Be, his sister, aptly described how my dad can easily be woken up from his sleep and how without hesitation, follow his parents order or a sibling request for assistance. Dad was an engineer, not an accountant, and he really gave without counting. I will always remember how he simplified mathematical, science or accounting problems by simply rearranging the various numbers so that the right units or dimensions cancel out, thus taking out the need to memorize formulas. (Recently, I had an argument with a roomful of engineers where I laid out my “expired” engineer’s license on the line to argue a similar point on dimensional consistency)  He was a Chemical Engineer from Mapua, Class of 1959 and I am from UP Chemical Engineering Class of 1986 and Mechanical Engineering Class of 1988. My 2nd engineering degree was also an input from dad. But, even if my dad never really had the chance to be an Atenean, he smartly encouraged me to finish my Ateneo MBA before getting married. Now, that was a smart carrot and stick philosophy that I hope to be able to use someday. As I write this, the Ateneo book is right beside me. And in my mind, I am re-publishing this to include my dad among the heroes of his time. My dad, Remigio Calma de Ungria, my hero. Prayers for the eternal repose of his soul, most welcome.