My Autobiography: David Balleza K(C)atague: Fernando Mendoza- College Football Hero

Saturday, January 10, 2026

Fernando Mendoza- College Football Hero

BREAKING NEWS: Indiana Hoosiers quarterback Fernando Mendoza just delivered a powerful message that left some of the world’s richest and most influential people stunned, and then he backed it up with action.

SEE FULL HERE : https://thecurrentnewsroom.com/.../breaking-news.../...

At a star-studded black-tie charity gala in Indianapolis, surrounded by Fortune 500 CEOs, Big Ten boosters, and celebrities dripping in designer gowns and tuxedos, Mendoza took the stage to accept the Walter Camp Foundation’s National Community Impact Award, but instead of the safe, rehearsed speech everyone expected from a breakout college quarterback, the 22-year-old spoke straight from the soul.

He didn’t thank boosters by name or brag about the Big Ten title. Instead, he looked out at a room packed with millionaires and billionaires and said:

“If you are blessed with success, use it to lift others. No man should celebrate victories while children have no chances. If you have more than you need, it is not truly yours; it belongs to those who need hope.”  The ballroom went dead silent.

According to guests, several high-profile donors froze; no polite applause, no smiles; just stunned stillness as the words of a kid from California who just beat Ohio State hung in the air. Of course they didn’t clap right away. Truth hits different when it’s delivered by someone who actually lives it.

Because Fernando wasn’t talking envy. He was talking responsibility.

And he didn’t stop at words. That same night, Mendoza announced he is personally donating his entire $1.7 million in NIL earnings from this season to fund after-school programs, tutoring centers, and college scholarship funds for underserved kids in his hometown and across Indiana, proving leadership isn’t just spoken; it’s lived.

Mendoza’s message was simple, timeless, and undeniably human:

“Success means nothing if it doesn’t serve others.” While boosters chase rings and headlines, a quarterback who just won the Big Ten reminded the world that true greatness isn’t measured by what you keep; but by what you give.

In an era where college athletes are called mercenaries, Fernando Mendoza didn’t just speak tonight. He made the world listen.

BREAKING: Fernando Mendoza Named to TIME’s 100 Most Influential People in Global Culture, a defining moment for a leader who refused to be boxed in.

Details: https://powerstride.forum/.../fernando-mendoza-shocks...
From relentless competitor to emblem of pride for the Indiana Hoosiers, Fernando Mendoza’s unwavering drive, discipline, and fearless presence have reshaped conversations far beyond the field. This recognition cements what supporters have long known: he isn’t just an athlete, he’s a cultural force who sets the standard, challenges expectations, and leaves a lasting mark.

For Details visit:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fernando_Mendoza

Finally, Did You Know that.....
After the 1960s, Filipino nurses didn’t just migrate, they reshaped global healthcare systems. As hospitals in the U.S., Middle East, Europe, and Asia became heavily staffed by Filipino nurses, institutions quietly adjusted shift structures, teamwork norms, bedside practices, and training methods around Filipino nursing culture.
Hospitals noted Filipino nurses’ strengths in patient-centered care, adaptability, English proficiency, and crisis resilience. Over time, some nursing schools abroad even modeled curricula on Philippine training standards, while hospitals adapted scheduling around collective work ethics and strong peer support systems common among Filipino staff.
In effect, Filipino nurses became an invisible backbone of modern global healthcare, so essential that systems bent around them, even if rarely acknowledged.
https://chateaudumer.blogspot.com/2026/01/nursing-in-philippines-and-abroad.html

Finally, the top five news of the Day:
1. Greenland’s political parties reject U.S. threats — All five parties in Greenland’s parliament issued a joint statement saying they want to decide the island’s future without interference, in response to repeated comments from U.S. President Trump about potentially asserting control over the strategically important Arctic territory. 
2. Pro-government crackdown intensifies as Iran protests spread — Anti-government demonstrations have expanded across Iran, with the supreme leader warning security forces won’t back down and rights groups raising alarm about communication blackouts and escalating tensions. 
3. Russia uses new hypersonic missile in major strike on Ukraine — Russia launched its new hypersonic missile in a significant attack on Ukraine, signaling a heightened phase of the conflict and sending a message to Western nations supporting Kyiv. 
4. Philippines: rescuers find signs of life in garbage avalanche disaster — After a massive collapse at a waste facility in Cebu city, Filipino rescuers have detected signs of life amid the rubble, as search operations continue for dozens missing. 
5. Swiss canton leader blasts lack of safety checks after deadly bar fire — The head of a Swiss canton expressed outrage that a bar which recently caught fire had not been inspected for years; the blaze killed about 40 people and authorities are investigating. 

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Highlights of My Professional Career

In my more than 40 years of professional career, I have experienced both working rank and file, as well as supervising the work of subordinates. I have worked in four private firms and the Federal Government, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), where I retired. I enjoyed the challenges and difficulties of both types of job situations. This is the highlights of my work experience story.

My first job after completing my doctorate degree was a Chemist for Chemagro Corporation in Kansas City, Missouri. It was a subsidiary of Bayer Corporation, a German conglomerate. I worked for the analytical chemistry department comprised of about fifty people; half that number was either chemists or biologists. My specific task was to develop analytical methods for the detection of pesticide residues in plant and animal tissues. I worked on my own, similar to six other bench chemists, and we all reported to the same supervisor.

The firm sponsored my visa conversion from a student to a permanent resident, and I was able to legally work and reside in the United States with my family. The company generously took care of its employees. At the end of each successful year, everyone received a 13th month salary bonus. The employees and their families celebrated wonderful annual Christmas parties in a downtown Kansas City hotel, with dancing and free drinks for the whole night.

Inasmuch as I enjoyed and loved working for Chemagro for five years, I found a new job which offered a substantially higher pay. Due to my exemplary work performance, my supervisor preferred and lobbied for me to stay with the company. I had to turn him down because they could not match the package presented by my new employer. It was also a chance for me and my family to move and live in the US west coast, where the mild winter climate is bearable compared to the Midwest.

My next job was at the agricultural research division of Shell Development Company in Modesto, California. I was a Research Chemist, and again I worked individually, same as five other chemists who all reported to a supervisor. My specific duty was similar to my previous job. I worked for them for five years, until the company decided to get out of the pesticide business. They closed their research facility affecting the jobs of more than 200 employees.

My third industrial job was with the agricultural research division of Stauffer chemical company, located in Richmond, California. I was a Senior Research Chemist doing the same project as my two previous jobs. I worked for twelve continuous years for the company, with outstanding annual job performance. I became a Principal Research Chemist, the highest attainable non-supervisory position.

One day in 1986, my supervisor informed me that my job had been eliminated, and I had one day to vacate the facility. It was the most dreadful lay off experience in my life. I felt anger, sadness and humiliation to be dismissed from work with one day notice, after all the years of hard work invested for the company. This was an unforgettable incident and was the gloomiest point in my professional career.
The company terminated sixty research employees, who were upset of the bad news.

One of the chemists was distressed and expressed his outrageous anger by threatening the company and its workers. He told his supervisor of his intention to bomb and burn down the laboratory. He was immediately escorted by the security staff out of the building and into his car. He was informed to leave behind his personal belongings; they will be mailed to his residence. He was warned never to show up again near the company premises or risk getting arrested.

My supervisor was kind and allowed me to take my time to pack up my belongings. It took me two days to clear up my workplace, after toiling for a long period in the same jobsite. We were provided clerical help and office space, in preparation to look for another job, such as updating our resumes, and using the computer and copy machine. We were given six weeks of separation pay plus benefits.

Fortunately, with the help of a friend who is a Church parishioner, I found another job thirty days after leaving Stauffer chemical company. He hired me as a senior research chemist and as a group leader with two technicians to supervise. It was in the same field as my expertise in my previous three jobs spanning the last twenty one years. My new employer was Chevron Chemical Company, and which was located in the same area as my former employer.

This job gave me the introduction and basic knowledge of managing the work of subordinates. I worked for Chevron Company for four and a half years. The company decided to consolidate their research facilities in Texas, and lay off all its research employees. This time I had enough distress and agony from working, and eventually getting laid off from several private companies. To avoid going through any more miserable layoffs, I made a vow that I would never again work for a private company.

In my work experiences, there were noticeable and unavoidable jobsite occurrences. One can never miss the office romantic relationships between co-workers, both illicit and permitted. Though it was frowned upon, there was a boss and staff relationship, which was used as a ploy to get ahead in the company. Some relationships had chemistry, no pun intended, but some never worked out. Oftentimes, there was a sense of distrust among bench chemists for some workers who unjustly obtained preferred work assignments.

Some employees resorted to bribing superiors to get special privileges, such as being able to attend choice conferences and meetings in exciting venues or locations. Likewise, politics was always present at the worksites. It was during an era when various forms of harassment, equal opportunity and discrimination laws were not yet enforced in the workplace. Occasionally, an unexpected chemical explosion happens in a laboratory setting, where luckily no one got seriously hurt.

In the three private companies I worked for, I was able to publish scientific journals for some of the research studies and analytical methods which I developed for the respective companies of Chemagro, Shell Development and Stauffer.

After deciding and making a vow to avoid working in the private sector, I made my new goal which was either to work for the state of California, or the Federal government in Washington, D.C. Four months after I lost my job in Chevron, I was lucky and joyful to be hired by the Food and Drug Administration as a review chemist in the fall of 1990.

In 1994 I was promoted as an Expert Research Chemist with a GS-14 rating. My expertise was on Anti-malarial and Anti-parasitic drug products. In 1997, I was again deservingly promoted to Chemistry team leader, supervising the work of six Chemistry reviewers including five with doctorate degrees.

As team leader, I was responsible for prioritizing, assigning, and assuring the technical accuracy of all chemistry, manufacturing and control issues for all new drug applications submitted to the Division of Anti-Infective Drug Products, Center of New Drugs.

It was part of my responsibility to give advice, instruct and promote high morale and teamwork in my group. My work in the FDA is confidential, until the drug patent on the products I worked on has expired. There are manufacturing supplements that I have approved that are now open for the public in the Internet.

In 1998, I won the Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Award. The citation reads, “For outstanding accomplishments in fostering the objectives of the EEO Program by hiring minorities and encouraging their professional growth while providing excellent leadership.” I have received numerous certificates of appreciation, awards in leadership and communications, commendation for teamwork and excellence in the accomplishment of the FDA mission. I have also received several letters of appreciation from private industry for my review work.

There are many good things working as rank and file while enjoying doing one’s job individually. It is a humbling, satisfying and productive experience, if one can work in harmony with one’s immediate supervisor. Working individually develops one’s skills in goal setting and scheduling. But in general, the financial rewards are less than a person who has supervisory responsibilities.

Managing the work of others has its challenges. Moreover, it develops one’s skill in handling and developing people, and the compensation rewards and benefits are better. Due to additional duties, responsibilities and leadership, supervisory work can be more stressful than working as a subordinate. However, supervisory jobs give one more personal growth and satisfaction, based on my personal experience. My work in FDA as a team leader managing the work of six scientists had been the happiest and rewarding work experience in my career in Chemistry. You might also like:

Saturday, January 10, 2026

Fernando Mendoza- College Football Hero

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