Written by: MVP Migo-Sumagang
Edited by: CG Alfafara, JA Capunitan
Published: January 14, 2021
Engineer Maricris Vines is the epitome of leadership and excellence in her field of expertise. She has 18 years of industry experience in the sugar and beverage manufacturing industry since obtaining her B.S. Chemical Engineering degree from UPLB. In addition to being an ASEAN Engineer, she has also been a recipient of numerous recognitions and awards. In 2019, she was recognized as one of the 100 Inspiring Filipina Engineers by the Women Engineers Network (WEN) of the Philippine Technological Council (PTC).
Her resume reflects a very rich industry experience as she handled various roles, from being a process supervisor to an environmental officer. Currently, she is the Risk Management and Sustainability Manager at the Universal Robina Corporation, where she is in charge of the development of enterprise risk management, business continuity plan, and sustainability strategies on water, climate, people, product, packaging, and sourcing. She is also very active in community and extension work and is currently the National President of the Philippine Institute of Chemical Engineers (PIChE), the first UPLB BS ChE graduate to become one.
Behind her success is an inspiring story of her beginnings. She is a native of Liliw, a small town in the province of Laguna. She was a working student on a vegetable farm during her elementary and high school years, and she helped her parents who were lambanog production laborers. She was constantly on top of her class in high school and was an active president of school clubs. Her dream job was to become an accountant until she met a Chemical Engineering student in 1995, a fellow Liliweno, Engr. Romeo Capuno, who influenced her to choose Chemical Engineering over Accountancy.
Engr. Vines graduated with a degree of Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering major in Sugar Technology from UPLB in 2002. She was accredited by the Coca Cola Company as a Practitioner Level (black belter) in the Operational Excellence Division last 2012. In 2015, she was conferred the ASEAN Engineer title by the ASEAN Federation of Engineering Organizations. She then received her certification as an Energy Management System Practitioner from the UNIDO and Department of Energy (DOE) in 2017.
She shares what keeps her motivated, “I’m motivated by finding life’s purpose and by what I want to achieve every single day for myself, my family, my job, and PIChE. The motivation is to make each day count and make the day better than the last.” Her favorite quote from Steve Jobs shows how she values having a purpose in life, “if you are working on something that you really care about, you don’t have to be pushed. The vision pulls you.” In her free time, like most of us, Engr. Vines spends her time watching Korean dramas, collecting Care Bears, and taking care of her cats.