FRESH from its third consecutive overall championship in the Department of Education’s Division of Iloilo City Press Conference, Ateneo de Iloilo again proved its dominance in journalism and creative writing as one of its students was chosen as national qualifier in the 2004 World Environmental Day Essay Writing Contest.

Neil Andrew Llorente, 15, one of the most consistent honor students of Santa Maria Catholic School (SMCS) Ateneo de Iloilo, bested 354 other campus writers to join the elite rank of five national finalists in the writing competition sponsored by Hydro Electric Development Corporation, 2GO, SuperFerry, and the United Nations Information Center. The other finalists are from Cebu, Davao, Cavite and Metro Manila.

Llorente quipped, “This is beyond my wildest expectations. Making in the top five against all odds sounds cool, yet too delightful to be true. I hope I’m not dreaming.”

“Nevertheless, aside from my parents’ support, I am so thankful of my Ateneo-Jesuit education. I believe, more than anything else, that without this, I might not even be turning dreams into reality right now. Perhaps, my SMCS-AdI education gave me the right facility to go beyond my competence and discover the better me.”

Participants, to note, composed an essay with the central theme: “The benefits of clean and renewable energy.” They mailed their articles and sent it to the organizers last September. It took almost two months for a pool of judges, mostly composed of seasoned writers, to determine the Final Five.

Together with four other qualifiers, Llorente, also champion of the recently-concluded Private Schools Athletic Association (PRISAA) General Information contest, is set to go to Makati City on Sunday, December 5, to compete in the national on-the-spot essay writing competition. Winners shall be awarded the following day, celebrating Philippine Energy Week, at a special reception at the Horizon Café of SuperFerry 17, Eva Macapagal SuperTerminal, Pier 6, Port Area, Manila.

Llorente, to note, is the news editor of the Ripples, the official student publication of SMCS-AdI. Together with 20 other Ateneo de Iloilo students, he is also set to represent Iloilo City in editorial writing English for the Regional Schools Press Conference slated in Bacolod City on December 16-18, 2004./Ripples