Meet the 27-year-old achiever who earns a doctorate in Environmental Science

MANILA, Philippines – For many people, earning a doctorate is the culmination of decades of study.

For Rylle Adriane Napalcruz Galvez, it became a milestone reached at just 27 years old—powered not by certainty, but by an unwavering curiosity to keep learning.

Photo courtesy: Rylle Adriane Napalcruz Galvez / Facebook

A native of Zamboanga City who now resides in Iligan City, Galvez recently completed his Doctor of Philosophy in Environmental Science at Mindanao State University–Iligan Institute of Technology (MSU-IIT).

His academic journey began with a bachelor's degree in Biology before pursuing a master's degree and eventually a doctorate in Environmental Science.

Beyond the classroom, Galvez built a career as a Geographic Information System (GIS) specialist, environmental scientist, and research consultant.

While completing his PhD, he also served as a resource speaker in three GIS workshops, including a training at Xavier University–Ateneo de Cagayan, helping students and professionals develop practical geospatial mapping skills.

His research excellence earned him the Best Dissertation Award during his doctoral studies, while his paper on land cover dynamics and land surface temperature in the Cagayan de Oro River Basin won the Best Research Paper Award during the 3rd International Conference on Biodiversity and Climate Change (IConBaCC) in 2023.

In an exclusive interview with The Summit Express, despite the accolades, Galvez admitted that self-doubt—not academic difficulty—was his greatest challenge.

The deeper he ventured into graduate school, the more aware he became of how much he still had to learn. Instead of striving for perfection, he chose to embrace criticism, revise relentlessly, and improve one step at a time.

He credits his mentors for nurturing his love for research, but says curiosity ultimately became the driving force behind every milestone. For him, education is not about knowing all the answers but about learning to ask better questions.

Now preparing to pursue a teaching career, Galvez hopes to continue conducting research on environmental planning and sustainable resource management while mentoring future researchers.

Looking back on nearly two decades spent in school, Galvez leaves aspiring scholars with a simple but powerful realization: success is not about being the smartest person in the room—it is about remaining curious, humble, and persistent enough to keep moving forward.

As he puts it, "I kept going not because I was certain I could, but because I wanted to find out whether I could."

Congratulations! — The Summit Express