***STUDENT ASSISTANCE***
REPORT ON THE 1ST APEC FUTURE SCIENTIST’S SUMMIT
By: Kevin David, ’09
When we were chosen to represent the country in the 1st APEC Future Scientist’s Summit, I was totally surprised. I immediately called my family and told them the great news. But they answered me with the practical question, “Are the expenses shouldered by the school?” At that instant, all the excitement got lost.
From then on, I asked my family, friends, church mates and neighbors to pray for me although, I was quite afraid to tell it to my friends because I was not yet sure if I will be joining by that time. I thought that I might only disappoint them and myself if that happens. But I kept on hoping and praying.
Weeks passed. Surprisingly, I found myself willingly completing my passport and VISA requirements. I’m not sure if I will use them, though. Then I decided to at last, write a letter to the PSHS Foundation for some more help. But the moment I was asking our research adviser to sign on the letter, she told me the good news that the PSHS Foundation already decided to pay for my plane fare. At last! The hoping and praying paid off.
However, that was not the end of the circumstances. Our VISA was not approved on the expected day so we had to postpone our flight for one day. That day was one of the longest days in my life. We were not even sure by that time, if we can join the next morning or if we will join the summit at all. But thank God, by 11 pm of the same day, we left the country and headed to Seoul. That was my first time in the airplane and first time out of the country. But I spent my first minutes on the plane with a short deep prayer. God has been really faithful in spite of all my shortcomings.
When we arrived, the summit was already starting. The first day was devoted to the presentation of the researches. At the start, we were quite overwhelmed by the experience and afraid to speak. But we improved as time passed. Soon, a lot of people were coming to our booth, people from different countries such as Taiwan, Korea, Indonesia, China, Singapore and others. This is my first time trying to have a formal conversation with people of different races.
Then we moved to one of the highlights of the summit. The students were grouped randomly and were assigned to work on a project about the future energy of the world. They provided us with materials which mostly are unfamiliar to me. These include solar panels, generators, hydrogen toy cars and circuit boards, although, I tried to cope. Again, I was afraid to speak and suggest since I’m not used to working with foreign people. But as our discussions got deeper and deeper, I became more involved. My teammates were 3 Koreans, 1 from Hong Kong and 1 from Brunei.
The project was cut for that day and we ate Korean food for lunch. Korean food really made me miss the Philippines. I hate raw seafood and vegetables. I spent my breakfasts, lunches and dinners as moments to converse with foreign students. They were very friendly and very willing to talk about their cultures. I found it so much better to learn from these conversations than what books and pictures could offer.
They ended the day with teaching us the Korean traditional dance. It was interesting. They have these dances which can be compared to our Cariñosa and Tinikling.
The next day, we had two talks from famous scientists and interdisciplinary research. Then we continued on our team project, and I think we ended well. However, we just did our best and did not aim for the medals. Each of the groups, then, presented their work. The delegates were really brilliant and had amazing innovations.
After dinner, the night ended with the awarding ceremonies. Two of the nine teams won the gold medals. Surprisingly, my team was one of them. Our collaboration worked. As for me, I am proud! For that honor is for my country and for all those who helped me.
The last day of the summit was filled with trips and tours around Korea. We went to a dinosaur museum among others. By this time, I already have a lot of friends to talk to and to have fun with.
We had to stay for one more day to wait for our flight. We spent this day talking to our guides and staff from Korea. We enjoyed their company and felt sad that the summit was about to end. But even the staff were impressed with the Filipino’s “malambing” personality.
The summit was a very great opportunity for me in a lot of ways. One, I always dreamed of representing my country in an international event. I want to boast that I am a Filipino with these amazing Filipino traits. Two, my confidence improved. Now I can be friendly to strangers and be good company. We are also aiming to join the Intel ISEF 2009 and we had a chance to know our strengths and weaknesses in research presentation. Three, I found out that hard work pays off. We, almost, had no summer vacation, just to work on this. We were also tired during school days because we had to work in UPMSI every now and then. But all these paid off. Four, I saw the people who were really concerned with me. I know that it was successful because my family, my friends and especially the PSHS Foundation helped and prayed to make this dream come true. And lastly, I saw God’s faithfulness in my life. Though I fail Him very often, He never fails me. So I end to give Him back all the honor and glory.
