By Glaiza Salanio

Selected Ateneo Senior High School grade 11 students from the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) strand took part in the 13th Regional Congress Search for SEAMEO Young Scientists with the theme “Youth for One Health through STEM Innovations” in the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization-Regional Centre for Education in Science and Mathematics (SEAMEO RECSAM), Penang, Malaysia, from June 10 to 14.

This research congress aimed to enable youth to contribute to the One Health field through STEM, support the One Health movement for a healthier future for the environment and humanity, and be equipped to protect and enhance the well-being of all living things.

The first group of delegates (Team ILOG) were Daniele Hannah V. Santos, Matt Andre C. Alburquerque, Raleigh T. Amante, Arianne Gabrielle W. Co, Amberly Ann U. Luneau, Antonio Gabriel DL. Repe, Leaf Avery D. Apsay, and Adrian Clark Earl R. Te from 11-Wright with their research entitled “Evaluating Tullahan River’s Water Quality: Exploring Physicochemical Characteristics and the Presence of Escherichia coli (E. coli).”

On the other hand, the second group (Team Just Vetter) was composed of Johannes Mari de Asis, Alessandra Bajarias, Celine Angelie Chua, Rosanne Alexa Diaz, Fernando Dela Cruz, Shannen Lupenna, Raphael Reyes, and Sharize Tañada from 11-Tsuji, presenting their study entitled “Analysis and Comparison of Vetiver Grass (Chrysopogon zizanioides) to Other Grass Genera for Landslide Mitigation and Sustainable Erosion Control.”

Mx. Gabe Eslava, the research teacher of both teams, along with Ms. Kristine Santiago, joined the participants in this event.

The delegates presented their research studies to the judges and later conducted a public exhibition for the general audience.

“Having the opportunity to present our work to the judges made us feel fulfilled and their insights motivated us to improve our work by developing solutions based on our findings,” Raleigh Amante from Team ILOG stated.

Aside from these, the congress also featured different workshops and talks for students and teachers.

“Participating in this research congress helped me grow as a student as it has helped me improve my research abilities and gain a better understanding of different topics within different fields of research,” Matt Alburquerque from Team ILOG shared.

“Lastly, this experience showed me how important it is to share knowledge between one another and to learn from others,” he added.

Their group also won a bronze medal and a cash prize for Outstanding Award for Presentation.

A total of 116 teams from Southeast Asia namely Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam participated in this research congress.