By: Johanna Vaughn Dejito, 10 Xavier, The Blue Knight
A pen, matched with some distinctive writing prowess, can definitely get one to places.
With sheer talent and brainpower, student journalists from Blue Knight (BK), the official student publication of the Ateneo de Davao University – Junior High School, bagged several awards in the Regional Schools Press Conference (RSPC) 2016, held in Cateel, Davao Oriental last January 6-9.
Over 3000 campus journalists and school paper advisers from the ten divisions of Region XI gathered for this year’s press conference. Davao Oriental Governor Corazon Malanyaon described the event as historical, even pronouncing it as the biggest ever held in Cateel.
The number of participants seemed overwhelming but the AdDU-JHS team took it as a challenging yet exciting opportunity to test their journalistic skills. The idea of having to compete with the best campus journalists in the region added nerve-wracking thrill to the adventure the team had.
Maria Theresa Largo, first place winner of Pagsulat ng Lathalain (Feature Writing) and NSPC qualifier recalls, “[The] RSPC [experience turned me into] this huge melting plot of all sensations a human could go through – nervousness, anticipation, adrenaline, and victory.”
Aside from Largo, three AdDU-JHS campus journalists took home awards in other individual events. Editor-in-Chief Gianna Marie Therese Bacareza finished second in Editorial Writing-English; Creative Head Jannies Shyne Briones placed third in Editorial Cartooning-English; and Associate Editor Johanna Vaughn Dejito ranked fourth in News Writing-English.
Meanwhile, the Radio Broadcasting team finished second place in the overall Scriptwriting and Radio Broadcasting event and bagged the second place award for Best in Scriptwriting. The team was composed of director Junfel Sotelo, news anchor Ethan Joshua Daquipil, news presenters Danica Marie Marasigan (Literary Editor) and Hanna Maj Piccio, infomercial specialists John Kyle Saavedra and Harriet Sheen Gallentes, and technical director Hannah Marie Molina.
Moreover, the Broadcasting team took home three special awards. Daquipil was hailed as Best Anchor while Molina and Piccio placed second in the technical application and news presenter categories respectively.
Ateneo JHS joined the broadcasting event for the first time, making its triumph in the division and regional levels a significant mark not only in the history of the school but Region XI itself.