#ShapedbyCSU: How an IT alumna forged a journey from scarcity to impact

Before success becomes visible, it is often born quietly—in moments of persistence, sacrifice, and belief. Long before technology became accessible at the tap of a screen, before laptops and Wi-Fi were commonplace, one CSU student’s journey began with a simple but powerful decision: to pursue education despite limitations.

More than two decades ago, across the highway from what was then Northern Mindanao State Institute of Science and Technology, now Caraga State University, stood boarding houses that sheltered students from neighboring towns and provinces of Butuan City. Among these students was Dinah Nesperos, an IT student from Cabadbaran, Agusan del Norte.

Back in the day, Dinah and fellow students served as student assistants at NORMISIST, particularly serving in the computer laboratory. They would help with clerical tasks at their college, the College of Engineering and Information Technology. She mainly volunteers as a student assistant at the computer laboratory so she can have access to an internet-enabled desktop. Before classes even began, she had already cleaned the lab, powered up the computers, and completed her coursework. CSU became more than a campus to her—it became a training ground for discipline, responsibility, and self-initiative.

“During that time, I didn’t have a laptop. Our family didn’t have computers. It’s totally different from what we have now. At that time, NORMISIST was not the same as it is today, where resources are just a couple of blocks away. Now, it’s on top of your fingers,” Dinah explained during the online interview conducted last December 2025.

Indeed, times have changed. During her time, when resources were scarce, she shared that she and most students would visit other schools/universities in Butuan to borrow books. They met fellow IT students from other universities at the bus terminal to pick up books, exchange references, and share ideas.

“NORMISIST used to have very limited resources, which pushed us to be resourceful,” Dinah said. What CSU lacked in abundance then was replaced with a culture that rewards resilience, collaboration, and determination.

Dinah’s grit was evident early on, as she balanced the pressures of school and worked part-time as a data encoder at a computer center in the city for the same reason and purpose as when she volunteered in the computer laboratory at school to earn time to access a working computer to help with her schoolwork and research.

Optimizing struggle into strategy

Like many students, Dinah also had a fair share of difficulty as subjects grew more complex as they approached their senior years in college. She shared that she once faced moments of uncertainty, including an incomplete grade, and considered switching to another course because she felt she would fail. She almost considered giving up, but her father encouraged her to continue. Sure enough, Dinah passed the subject and graduated as one of the pioneering Bachelor of Science in Information Technology graduates in 2004.

Dinah’s experiences, her struggles as a college student, and her resourcefulness have helped her navigate the real world after graduating from NORMISIST. She looked back at what she had gone through and saw that those experiences served a purpose. Her mindset shifted, and she no longer perceived her struggles negatively and was grateful she had faced them.

“Grateful kayo ko sa struggle namo sauna. [I am very grateful for the struggle we went through before.] The struggle was never about quitting,” she reflects. “It was about learning how to pursue, even when the path was difficult.”

That lesson would become her lifelong advantage.

Dinah noted that once a student has overcome the struggles to finish college, it is not impossible that they will also overcome struggles as they build their career or profession in the real world. Most graduates often lack the resources they need to build their career portfolios. Dinah stressed that there will be competition, and college graduates have high expectations, and people will have high expectations of them. There will be downsides and challenges, but graduates need to be hopeful that they’ll recover.

“It [the path] is not always polished ang imong padulngan,” Dinah claimed. [The path you are heading toward is not always smooth.]

Indeed, the path to building a career and profession is unpolished, and success is not a straight line. The dirt and rocks on the road are expected parts of the journey.

Dinah shifted her perspective by transforming her academic setbacks and professional hurdles into a strategic blueprint. Today, those mastered struggles serve as a blueprint for future challenges.

“Because you start learning. Summing up, you know the process, and you will say, Okay, now I know what to do because I have been there already, and then the next one will be much easier,” Dinah asserted.

Applying the blueprint of excellence

Today, Dinah holds a senior global leadership role as a Global IT Product Owner for Web and eCommerce at Baxter International Inc., a Fortune 500 company in Illinois, USA, leading large-scale digital platforms across multiple regions globally. She is also pursuing her Master of Business Administration at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, one of the world’s top public universities.

She didn’t arrive there by accident.

She arrived there because CSU trained her to think systematically, work through complexity, and take ownership—skills first introduced in classrooms, labs, and late-night study sessions at NORMISIST. She still remembers lessons on database management, workflows, and processes, taught by professors who pushed students to their limits while never withdrawing their support. “They challenged us,” she says. “But they never let us fail alone.”

Recently, Dinah shared this with one of her former instructors, now CSU President Dr. Daguil, telling him that those foundational lessons continue to guide how she coaches and leads global teams today.

Core Values at scale

When we asked her how she relates to CSU’s core values (Competence, Service, Uprightness), Dinah linked her answers to her role as a global IT product owner.

Competence, as she defines it, means mastering your craft, being competent and confident enough to lead in high-stakes environments. Without this core competency, an individual will struggle to meet the expectations of shareholders, stakeholders, and peers alike.

Service, on the other hand, according to Dinah, means collaborating deeply with stakeholders, businesses, and customers. In the IT industry, they must work in tandem with the business to understand the value they deliver to their stakeholders.

Meanwhile, Uprightness means taking accountability and being responsible, especially when things don’t go as planned or pivot off track, and something is wrong. Uprightness meant an individual must own the mistake and not blame anyone.

A Message to future Golden Paddlers

This year, Caraga State University (CSU) is set to open its doors once again to a new batch of Golden Paddlers. We asked Dinah how she would convince a student to enroll in CSU and what insights she would share with them.

“CSU doesn’t promise an easy path. It promises a strong one,” she answered

Dinah stressed that CSU offers a solid, high-quality education, supported by a proven record of competent faculty. CSU’s consistent performance in licensure and board examinations, its competent educators, and the caliber of students it produces reflect that commitment. She emphasized that CSU has a strong and proven track record of excellence.

“Student success isn’t one-sided,” Dinah says. “It happens when students and the institution move together, aligned in values, effort, and purpose.”

If you are willing to work.

If you are willing to struggle productively.

If you are willing to grow.

Then, CSU can take you farther than you imagine. Because sometimes, the students who begin with the least access are the very ones most prepared to lead the world.