Marcos could hear the excitement in the stands as spectators cheered children in the bike race. He was 11 years old and participating in the race as part of the school celebrations. Halfway through the race, he heard them say “there’s still one missing” and realized he has fallen back to the last place. But Marcos didn’t stop. The final leg was riding uphill. Marcos kept peddling, surging ahead of the others slowly. Finally, he touched the end line, expecting the crowd to jeer at him. Instead, there were shouts of joy and clapping of people in the stands. With his outstanding effort, Marcos had ended the race in fourth place.
A relentless drive, unwavering determination and perseverance are traits that have defined every move of Marcos Fernandez, DRC Review Engineer at CriticalRiver, ever since his school days. Marcos drew strength from sports and fitness, channeling its discipline and grit into his work. These are the qualities that have made him a powerhouse of dedication and resilience in CriticalRiver. “During college, my studies were my top priority, so I wasn’t very consistent with sports. However, I still loved taking advantage of every opportunity to play a soccer match with friends, run, swim at the beach during vacations, or simply go for a walk,” he said. Since he was 27 years old, he has been working out regularly at the gym. His biggest challenges in his fitness regime have been his injuries. But that never deterred Marcos from getting back again. “You have to know there is a great sense of accomplishment in simply keeping going and getting back at it as a continuous practice,” he says.
Above all, Marcos’s success can be attributed to his unparalleled work ethic. At CriticalRiver, Marcos recently delivered his 100th project to the client Micron. Marcos is responsible for Design Rule Checking (DRC), which consists of checking the schematic logic connections and the geometric layout of the design to ensure it complies with a series of minimum requisites.
Talking about his milestone, Micron said Marcos successfully “identified quality design risks in both DRAM and NAND designs that improved Customers’ development”. They also said Marcos always maintained engineering professionalism in his work.
On the day of the race, the 11-year-old Marcos had learnt a lesson that would follow him through life: resilience is not about winning; it is about pushing forward, even when no one is watching. Today, Marcos Fernandez stands as a testament to that lesson. In every project he takes on at CriticalRiver, he applies the same grit he showed that day on the uphill climb, driving forward with passion, discipline, and determination.
Through his journey, we see that champions are not defined solely by titles or accolades. True champions, like Marcos, are defined by the relentless pursuit of excellence and the courage to keep going—no matter the obstacles, no matter the odds.
