“Chop Wood, Carry Water”
Those were the words that resonated with and inspired Engineer Augustine Aguilar, a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering graduate from Western Mindanao State University, who ranked 7th in the November-December 2024 Civil Engineers Licensure Examination (CELE).
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| Photo courtesy: Facebook/Augustine Aguilar, Mikee Reyes |
In his Facebook post on December 7, 2024, he shared that he was inspired by the words of Tito Mikee Reyes in his podcast “Tito Thoughts.”
“I first heard these words from one of the Tito Thoughts podcasts by Tito Mikee,” he said.
He explained, “It reminds us to be humble in our victories and persistent in the face of failures that no matter what life throws at us, whether good or bad, we keep our heads down, put in the hard work, and prepare ourselves for our ‘big break.’”
“To God Almighty, for blessing me with this valuable gift and opportunity. You made all this possible, and for that, I am forever grateful,” he said.
After this, Aguilar individually thanked the people who contributed to his success, including his parents, siblings, relatives, friends, roommates, former teachers, mentors, and everyone who congratulated him.
Mikee Reyes or “Tito Mikee” is a former professional basketball player who is a podcaster, mainstream media and social media personality, and sports analyst.
He started playing for the UP Fighting Maroons in UAAP Season 72 in 2009. His college career was hampered with injuries and he had to sit out for 2 consecutive years, in 2011 and 2012, after playing in his first 2 UAAP seasons.
In Season 76, he rejoined the roster and played in their opening game, but left the team and did not play for the rest of the season after a disagreement with their head coach. He returned the following season and helped the Maroons end their 27-game losing streak.
After being drafted by the KaTropa, he was not signed, which led him to play in other leagues such as the ASEAN Basketball League (ABL) and the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL).
He became an NCAA basketball analyst for ABS-CBN in 2015 and for GMA Network when the league moved to the network in 2020, and then a basketball analyst for One Sports. He was a sports presenter for Frontline Pilipinas from 2023 to 2024. This 2025, he announced his resignation from Frontline to give more time in content creation.
— Noel Ed Richards, The Summit Express
