Here's why Atom Araullo looks up to Dr. Jonas Salk, the creator of the first polio vaccine

Instead of a renowned media personality or an award-winning journalist, Atom Araullo revealed that his personal hero is, in fact, Dr. Jonas Salk, the creator of the first polio vaccine.

"He just really made an impression," Atom said in an episode of "The Howie Severino Podcast."

Despite his storytelling skills and his impressive journalism, Atom interestingly didn't go through j-school and instead went the route of science. He studied in the Philippine Science High School and later on took BS Applied Physics in the University of the Philippines. 

Atom said, "When I learned about Dr. Jonas Salk and the vaccine that he essentially created against polio —  which changed the lives of millions of people around the world — what struck me was when people ask him, 'Aren't you going to file a patent for the vaccine?' So obviously he can earn, he can be made ten lifetimes over if he decided to patent the vaccine and retire with his heaps of cash. But he answered by saying, 'There's no patent because can you patent the sun?'"

As a young aspiring scientist, Atom remembered being amazed by Salk's mentality. It didn't matter to Salk, Atom said, that the vaccine was his invention, but what mattered more was that he was able to "create a public good like the sun."

"Someone who spent much time and effort to produce a vaccine and it's not often that you hear about people who genuinely just want to make a change in the world, you know. If he patented that vaccine, I don't think anyone would have faulted him for it," Atom said. "And even if it is the fruit of his labor, when it comes to a product that is for the good of everyone, you don't put a price tag on that. That's how I understood it."

That kind of thinking, Atom said, and the realization that there are still people out there who thought of the public's welfare, struck him.

"For a young idealistic scientist or at least scientist in training, that made an impression," Atom said. — Kaela Malig/LA, GMA News