Shine!

They probably didn’t know how they’d pull it off, but they tried anyway. They took the UPCAT – and passed. There was UP Cebu, but they aimed for the main campus in Diliman – which could very well be a whole world away from Cebu, especially for families of limited means.

Last Aug. 10, eight of those Cebuanos who passed the UPCAT took their first classes at UP Diliman, scholars of the Sidlak (Shine) Sugbuanon Foundation. They will be given not just tuition, but living expenses, an allowance, round-trip airfare. They will be mentored and given opportunities to experience things outside of academics, such as going to concerts, visiting museums and meeting professionals in different fields.

They are the first recipients of the scholarship, set up this year in coordination with UP. They all see this as an opportunity to pursue their dreams without burdening their families. The payback? They must maintain grades of at least College Scholar level, and come up with a project each year that can be offered to their community.

A common characteristic of these young Cebuanos, aside from being consistent honor students, is a sense of service. They volunteered with relief efforts in the aftermath of Typhoon Tino and the magnitude 6.9 earthquake that hit Cebu. They are also natural leaders, heading school organizations and initiating projects that benefit others.

In the mountain community of Barangay Sudlon 1, students received financial literacy lessons through Project DASIG. On Caohagan Island, the Little Lights Project provided school supplies to a kindergarten. Another outreach program connected the student government of Cebu City National Science High School with Everlasting HOPE Cebu. Daniel Tagalog helped lead all three. He is pursuing BS Business Administration, but he isn’t aiming to climb the corporate ladder. He hopes to use the degree as preparation for law school and eventually become a lawyer who defends the rights of the underprivileged and stands against injustice.

Also aiming to be a lawyer is Frances Gesta, but her focus is on AI and cybersecurity. Although BS Computer Science is an unconventional pre-law course, it aligns with her strengths in math and science and prepares her for work in data privacy and cybersecurity. She is also interested in the regulation of AI and hopes to help shape policies that respond to the risks and possibilities of emerging technology.

Juliana Pabonita was recognized as the Best Student Teacher for Basic Calculus, and tutored Grade 7 students in trigonometry. With a natural aptitude for math and the analytical thinking and problem solving that comes with it, it’s no wonder she chose to pursue a BS Statistics degree. She aims to develop skills that will enable her to address real-world issues, such as data-driven research and decision-making, which she hopes to apply in community development or public policy.

Twins Louisse and Louissa Tan will have each other’s support as they conquer the Diliman Republic, but they’ll each have different challenges in their chosen fields. Louisse is going for BS Applied Physics, focusing on health care and the technologies that allow doctors to examine what cannot be seen from the outside. She hopes to specialize in Medical Physics and her goal is not merely to understand advanced technology, but to help make its benefits available to more Filipinos.

Louissa, on the other hand, is going for a BS in Mathematics. Math appeals to her because it develops the ability to examine a problem carefully and work toward a logical solution. She believes the analytical skills gained from the field will prepare her for a world increasingly shaped by data and give her room to grow both academically and professionally.

Joseph Saavedra applied for BS Statistics and BS Applied Physics in the UPCAT, qualifying for both; he chose the latter. While he believes his individual acts will not be enough to lift a community out of poverty, he hopes that he can help someone face another day with greater hope. “Maybe that’s how I want to change this world. Not to turn it upside down all at once, but to shift it little by little.”

Preparing food packs for homeless people on the streets of Cebu made Gladjovynn Balacuit realize that no one should have to live without basic needs and that the circumstances into which people are born should not determine whether they have enough food, shelter or care. A BS in Molecular Biology and Biotechnology will not only unlock secrets of how the world works, it will enable her to turn scientific knowledge into things that can help people in practical and lasting ways.

He repaired his family’s computer, but the broken printer stumped him. Zachary Luego learned that some problems are not solved in one go, but the point is to keep at it and look at it from different angles. An Electronics Engineering course will help him do just that. Helping develop an AI-based waste disposal robot capable of segregating biodegradable, non-biodegradable and recyclable waste allowed Zachary to work more closely with electronics and robotics, making technology respond to an everyday problem and create practical solutions to real-life concerns.

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“The goal of the scholarships,” says Loy Arcenas, who runs the Sidlak Sugbuanon Foundation, “is to help them be aware of what it is to be Cebuano, to take pride in knowing who they are and what they can be and, in the process, inspire young kids that dreams are achievable.”

He probably won’t appreciate my writing about this, but Loy has, as ChatGPT describes, “an unusually distinguished career” in three fields – theater set design, theater direction and film direction. He had an amazing career in the theater world in the States, winning two Obie Awards and a host of other accolades for his set designs.

Locally, he has won recognition for his set designs, and a Gawad Buhay! award for Best Director for the 2008 Tanghalang Pilipinos staging of “Golden Child,” by David Henry Hwang (“M Butterfly”) who, incidentally, was born in Cebu.

He ventured into film with “Niño” in 2011, winning awards from Cinemalaya, the Busan International Film Festival and the Vesoul (France) International Film Festival of Asian Cinemas. His “Ang Larawan” (based on Nick Joaquin’s 1952 play “A Portrait of the Artist as Filipino”) took five trophies at the 2017 Metro Manila Film Festival, including Best Picture.

Loy has settled back in the Philippines and fortunately still does work in theater with Tanghalang Pilipino, Virgin Labfest and the Alice Reyes Dance Philippines – continuing to use his unerring eye for design and talent for creating magic on stage.

Away from the stage lights, with Sidlak Loy works with young people in Cebu, stoking the fire in them so that one day soon, they may shine brighter than the stage lights, in service to their community and their country. And that is reward no trophy can match.