BAGUIO CITY -- A student of Abra Institute of Science and Technology (ASIST) topped this year’s Outstanding Students in the Cordillera Administrative Region (OSCAR) awards and will join nine others from the upland region in the search for the 2018 Ten Outstanding Students in the Philippines (TOSP).
Von Ameri Escobar, who finished Bachelor of Science in Secondary Education major in English, will lead the Cordillera region’s nominees for the most coveted national award for student leaders.
Escobar is the first student in her school to become Magna Cum Laude after 30 years. She graduated last March. She also bagged the Best Thesis Award and was chosen as her school's Journalist of the Year, for serving as the school paper's editor in chief.
The outstanding student is also on the Executive Board of the Abra Youth Organization Society.
Recognizing her efforts in communication, she was given an Excellence Award for making it to the final round of the World Youth Essay Competition by the University of Heidelberg in Germany.
Joining Escobar as representatives of the Cordillera Administrative Region in this year's search for the TOSP are: Rachelle Ann Velilia of Benguet State University, Austin Miguelle Ogad of Saint Louis University, Maria Isadora Aquino of the University of the Cordilleras, Edgar Christian Dirige of Saint Louis University, Giovanni Lorenz Maglalang of STI College Baguio, John Noel Fermin of Saint Louis University, Joven Wadwachan of Divine Word College of Bangued (Abra), Alladin Bañez of Benguet State University, and Denmark Buttic of Ifugao State University.
They are the Top 10 in this year's outstanding students search in Cordillera.
Adrian Fernandez, president of the OSCAR Alumni Community said the regional search got 27 nominees from all higher education institutions in the region.
He said the search focuses on three pillars -- academic excellence, leadership, and social involvement -- all anchored on good moral values.
Fernandez said the regional finalists have undergone a formation program aimed at humanizing leadership by focusing on the grassroots, an approach that would later on benefit the students' respective communities.
“The formation program is the heart and soul of the program,” he said. "We want to create and expand the community of leaders, who are not just academically excellent, but are leaders who have hearts for the community.”
The regional representatives will also be judged on the national level based on documents and will undergo a national formation program sometime in November or December.
The winners will be announced in January 2019.
Fernandez said the most important facet of the award is the realization that students play a vital role in nation-building.
He added that the search also hopes to inspire more Cordillera youth to contribute to a positive change in the country by serving as catalysts for nation-building.
The TOSP search was conceptualized by Jose Concepcion of RFM Corporation on June 19, 1961 to celebrate the 100th birthday of Dr. Jose Rizal.
“It was aimed at celebrating, affirming, and inspiring the burgeoning idealism of the youth in academic excellence, leadership, and social responsibility anchored on moral values,” the OSCAR said in a document obtained by the Philippine News Agency (PNA) on Tuesday. (PNA)
