Meet Josephine Higby

Today we’d like to introduce you to Josephine Higby. 

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Coming from the Philippines, which is a developing country, and with a very humble beginning, I experienced life’s challenges at a very young age. At the age of 7, I talked to the fish vendors and asked if I could sell fish next to our village. Our fish vendor neighbors were kind enough to let young kids sell fish in exchange for a 20% commission from the income they would receive by selling the fish. They agreed, so I would tirelessly get up every morning before school and carry a bucket of fish to sell next to our village with the goal and hope that I would have an allowance to spend in school from the commission I got from selling the neighbor’s fish. I would buy school supplies, snacks, and lunch, from the fish commission. And when there was a scarcity of fish, my alternative way of making money was by helping my parents on the farm with the planting and harvesting of different root crops such as rice, sweet potatoes, tapioca, and other vegetables. I would also gather firewood from the mountain and sell it to the neighbors as a way for me to have some allowance for school. As a young kid with financially challenged parents, I continued selling fish and doing my alternative sources of making money for my school allowance until I graduated from elementary school. Despite the financial challenge, I was fortunate enough to stay on top of my school activities and studies. I was a consistent high honor student and graduated elementary school as valedictorian. 

Entering my high school journey, I could say that if you can endure the pain and loneliness of being away from your family at a young age, you will become a tougher and more determined person, and I say that because I have lived with it. I was super fortunate to be accepted as a full high school scholar to a non-profit organization founded by an American Priest. The school was The Sisters of Mary, Cebu Philippines branch. The mission of the school is to help the poorest of the poor, and I was one lucky kid to be part of the program for four years with free education, food, and clothing. However, you remain on campus the entire school year except for one visitation day for parents and family members at the campus and a two-week summer vacation. 

Life’s journey has never been an easy or smooth ride, so we just have to learn how to dance with it, go with the flow, and adjust when and where we can. After a successful high school, I went home to my province to continue college. Though there was the uncertainty of finances, I took the chance to pursue a degree in Industrial Engineering as I had long believed that this course would help me achieve what I am passionate about – the process of building a product. I guess by luck, I was able to pass the entrance exam for Industrial Engineering and graduated in 2006 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Engineering. Right after graduation, I landed a job as Process Engineer in Cavite, which is south of Manila, the capital of the Philippines. I worked for an electronics company and was employed there for almost 7 years. 

In January of 2013, I migrated to the US through a non-immigrant visa. After receiving my work permit in 2013, I started looking for a job in line with my work experience in the Philippines, and one day, I received a call from a hiring company that offered me a job. In December 2013, I landed an Engineering position with a company that I have been with these past 10 years, and I now hold the position of Senior Project Manager. 

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
My journey of life has never been a smooth and easy road. But I held on to my dreams, stayed focused, and kept the determination to finish the goal I wanted to achieve for myself and my family, to be uplifted from the poorest of the poor life situation. Along the way, while life was hard enough with my family’s financial instability, my father was diagnosed with late-stage 4 prostate cancer while I was in college, together with three of my other siblings. Imagine four college students and a father with cancer. College life as a student was really a challenge for me, especially since we were financially stricken, but I never gave up. There were many days that I went to school with an empty stomach, and I have walked from my boarding house to the university during a heavy rain, my socks soaking wet because the soles of my shoes were cut, letting the rainwater penetrate. Yet life must continue, and we must move on. With the huge and unwavering support from my eldest sister I was able to kept that fire of determination to be untangled from poverty in my spirit and with the continued all out support of my husband, everything in life is possible moving forward.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
As a professional, I have stayed where I am passionate about – in the manufacturing industry. I love watching a product being built from raw material to a finished product. It always fascinates me, whatever product it may be. And graduating from Industrial Engineering had connected me to what I really wanted to do in life. And with my current role, managing projects is not an easy job. So last summer, I decided to take a Master of Engineering Management at Penn State University to enhance and further my learning in order to gain more knowledge to apply to my job and achieve good results. The professional challenge continues. A full-time employee, a full-time mother of two young kids, and a full-time master’s program student. After all, life is fulfilling when I bet all these odds and challenges. 

What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
I work in the heavy-duty truck industry, and I believe over the next 5-10 years, the company I work for will be able to launch very enticing heavy-duty trucks and Department of Defense trucks with quality and reliability. Electric heavy-duty vehicles will be on the market over the next 5-10 years as well.