5 students from Iloilo, Davao, Leyte, Zamboanga get US scholarships

Five students from the provinces will soon set foot in Ivy League schools after securing scholarships under the United States Embassy's EducationUSA.

Kyle Abello, Keene Dampal and Matt Sareno received full ride scholarships to the elite schools, while Bea Sanagustin and Ellen Yabut secured financial grants to their respective colleges after undergoing the College Prep Program (CPP) of the Embassy.

Batch valedictorian Abello from Tacloban City, Leyte said he has always been interested in studying in Ivy League schools.

A survivor of the Yolanda super typhoon in 2013, Abello will study engineering at Princeton University.

“As a son of two government workers, I see with my own eyes how detrimental the systemic problems of the Philippines affect the lives of many. So, as a scholar, I can help with bringing back my knowledge of what I’m taught in university abroad and also giving back to the community in Science and Innovation,” Abello said.

“The Philippines still is a developing country and I can really catapult the Philippines in little ways as a researcher… Babalik po ako kasi kailangan ko pong tulungan ang bansa nating umunlad, (I will return because I have to help our country improve)” he added.

Aside from Princeton, Abello also secured admissions at Yale University and the University of Notre Dame.

“For me, the informational advice [and] support given by Education USA was instrumental to my success because the US college applications process is different from the Philippine universities’ process, so in that sense, EducationUSA really helped,” he said.

Ellen Yabut, who is bound for the University of Pennsylvania as a student in Biochemistry, intends to improve herself through the opportunities offered by the university and return to serve the country.

“One of the biggest plans I have right now is to be a balik-scientist and would serve Filipinos due to the DOST programs that would also equip the youth, [and] be an inspiration to the youth to pursue STEM careers and give back to the community through Science and Technology,” said the native of Iloilo City.

Another Iloilo native, Sanagustin will major Accounting at the University of Southern Mississippi.

Dampal, from Davao City, will major in Neuroscience and Psychology at Dartmouth College.

Zamboanga-based Sareno will study Statistics and Data Sciences at Yale University.

US Ambassador to the Philippines MaryKay Carlson was present during the ceremony to deliver her commencement speech and hand out certificates and commemorative coins to the graduates.

“The people-to-people ties including student programs and student exchanges are absolutely essential to maintaining that trust and understanding [between the Philippines and the US] so that we can be partners in prosperity and iron-clad allies. So, students are a big part of our people-to-people ties,” said Carlson.

“These bridges that are built between the students of the Philippines and students in the United States are very important as a foundation for the future ties between the United States and the Philippines,” she added.

The CPP is an 18-month program that prepares the top 15 applicants for the US college and scholarship applications and processes.

Now in its third year, the program covers financial support for the students’ exams, review materials, applications, and submissions for American universities.

The program is currently processing its third batch and is set to re-open its applications for its fourth batch soon.

“It was a really tough process and in the middle of the process you could doubt yourself a lot of times, your own capabilities, but at the end of the day it’s how you would trust yourself and how you would take your challenge,” said Yabut.—LDF, GMA Integrated News