EN 
PT_BR 
When Bernardo and Luana were children, they saw their father, José Wanderley Marangon, leave home early to go to work. More than thirty years later, the two have not only grown up but also followed in the footsteps of their progenitor by choosing the renewable energy sector as a means of professional activity.
Today, “daddy”, as he is affectionately called by them, feels proud to celebrate another Father’s Day alongside his eternal children.
The custom, however, of studying new equipment and technologies together will be replaced, this time, this Sunday, by a good old conversation via telecommunications, as Luana lives in the United States and Bernardo is traveling for work.
José Wanderley is a renowned professional in the energy sector, having graduated in electrical engineering in 1979 and worked for companies such as: Eletrobrás (Centrais Elétricas Brasileiras SA); ANEEL (National Electric Energy Agency), and MME (Ministry of Mines and Energy).
In 1993, he chose to leave Rio de Janeiro to teach classes at Unifei (Faculdade Federal de Itajubá), where he would make lifelong memories in the future. “In the meantime, Luana and Bernardo began to decide what career they were going to follow. I don't know if I influenced them a little, but they ended up choosing engineering and taking the entrance exam here in Itajubá. I ended up teaching both undergraduate and postgraduate courses”, he commented.
In 2004, however, the family's life suffered a severe blow with the death of his wife. At that time, Bernardo was finishing his degree and Luana was starting her professional career. The three say that their love for engineering was fundamental in healing some of the wounds.
“In our meetings, we talked about the direction energy was taking. Bernardo liked the financial area more and Luana identified more with me, in the academic area. She even became a professor at the University of Itajubá before making her way in the United States”, highlighted her father.
While teaching classes in Minas Gerais, José Wanderley also dedicated many years of his profession to carrying out research and development work, alongside his children, who were allocated to help him. The work carried out culminated in the setting up of a consultancy, which is now managed jointly by José Wanderley and Luana, with some tips from Bernardo.
Family relationship
Luana says that her father has always been a great influence and that much of what she does today is the result of his teachings. Currently, the engineer works teaching master's classes in energy and environment at Duke University, in the State of North Carolina, in the United States. “He always recommended specializations to me and spoke a lot about the renewable sector. I said it would be a cool area to pursue a career in and I really like my work”, he revealed.
The apple of her father's eye also has memories of the time when she thought about becoming an engineer, but still had little contact with the field. “I remember that, on my 16th birthday, when I was preparing to take the entrance exam, he gave me an HP and I didn't even know what it was. I thought it was an electronic diary. He corrected me by saying: “nooooo, this is an engineer’s calculator. You need to see how cool this is”, says Luana, while laughing at the memory.
Bernardo, in turn, reveals that he always thought about pursuing a career in the financial area and that his father advised him to do engineering so that he could have a good foundation in mathematics.
One of the memories he cherishes was when he was in his first year of high school and ended up traveling with his father to follow a course he taught in Chavantes (SP). “I was 14 years old and I was taking these electrical classes among a bunch of adults. It was very funny”, he commented.
After completing his undergraduate and master's degrees, Bernardo still worked in the business sector, before becoming director of the company Exata Energia. “I'm very happy with what I chose and my father was my biggest influence. The biggest lesson he gave me was to never give up, always study, dig deeper and always try to be one step ahead. It’s the biggest life lesson I take with me.”
The trio also says that the Covid-19 pandemic is also a factor that worries everyone and that, because of this, they ended up not seeing each other as usual. “Bernardo, after this second wave, ended up coming to Itajubá and I managed to see my grandchildren for a bit”, said José Wanderley.
“Because of the pandemic, as close as we were, we were far away. We end up seeing very little of each other in person, because we try to protect ourselves. Thank God, no one in the family had contact with this disease”, highlighted Bernardo.
Celebration
Just as it was in 2020, José Wanderley's Father's Day celebration will be more timid than in previous years. Luana will stay in the United States and Bernardo, despite living in the same city as his father, in Itajubá, is on a work trip.
The celebration, in this sense, will be “only based on Zoom (an application that makes video calls in real time)”, jokes Luana, who, on Friday, also gave her father some information that he was already missing. to hear. “Luana announced that she will spend the month of December here in Brazil. We can say it’s my Father’s Day gift”, joked José Wanderley.
“I still don't know how long I have to live, but what I can say is that my mission is accomplished. The best thing is to see my children happy with their work, with their marriages, with their children, and with a very cool life path ahead of them. I can safely say that I am very proud of the children I have”, he concluded.
