Alfred Tadena

Application Essay

I’m Alfred S. Tadena, currently in 11th grade studying at Quezon City Science High School.

One of my favorite things to do in my spare time is to read poetry, as I see it as a way to understand people’s perspectives on life.

I enjoy many things, but especially subjects that allow me to express my thoughts and creativity such as Oral Communications and Philosophy.

With this in mind, my goal in life is to pursue a communications major and hopefully land a job that involves managing public relations.

I also have a soft spot for our local farmers, since many of my relatives are connected to agriculture, like my sister. She is currently working at a non-profit organization that helps farmers, and I really look up to her.

I wish that someday I too can help those who need assistance and give voice to the voiceless, just like her.

Exit Essay

Quezon City Science High School, in my experience, is the epitome of diligence. During my first year at Kisay, I felt an overwhelming pressure to succeed and prove myself worthy of my place. It took me a while to fully integrate into the Scientian community, and I especially struggled with balancing my academics alongside our financial difficulties at the time. I felt small compared to my classmates, and my school experience proved to be much tougher than the ease I had felt back in elementary school.

Back in elementary school, I succeeded without much effort. I received accolades and honors without even trying. As a naive young boy, I thought this would be the same to my new school. However, I was unprepared for what my new life truly entailed. From sleepless nights of studying to the panic-inducing recitations in front of my classmates, Kisay proved to be much harder than I had imagined. It only worsened when the pandemic hit, as one of my biggest weaknesses at the time was not being tech-savvy. I got my first phone in grade 7, so I wasn’t familiar with how to navigate a device, particularly Google Classroom. This led to numerous miscommunications between me and my teachers. I remember one instance when my teachers contacted my parents about a number of missing requirements. I was confused because I thought I had submitted everything. But when my parents checked Google Classroom, it turned out that I had submitted my assignments in the wrong format, causing my work to disappear. This issue only snowballed, and I struggled to catch up on my growing backlogs.

One of the subjects I had the most difficulty with was research. Research requires meticulous attention to detail, something I lacked at the time. I often made critical mistakes, such as forgetting to cite my sources or struggling to find credible references. However, with the support of my siblings, I learned to approach research more carefully. After that experience, I gained a better understanding and adopted a more holistic approach to conducting research.

As the pandemic ended and classes resumed, my research groupmates and I continued our work. After countless days and nights of studying and refining our project, we finally succeeded and were selected to represent our school at the Regional Science and Technology Fair. However, instead of feeling joy, our initial reaction was dread. This meant even more challenges ahead. One by one, my research mates dropped out of the project, but my best friend Lorenzo stayed by my side. Together, as we worked to improve our project, we encountered a significant dilemma: upgrading our project would be costly, as we needed to buy new parts and make improvements.

This is where my ANI scholarship became my saving grace. Two months’ worth of my allowance was spent on repairing and upgrading our device. In the end, our hard work paid off, and we placed 4th in the Science Innovation Expo Category.

This journey has taught me many things, but most importantly, it has shown me the value of diligence and continuous learning, even in the face of adversity. Learning means you will always be a beginner at something, and I’ve learned to be humble and to embrace the humility that comes with acquiring new knowledge. I also deeply appreciate how the ANI scholarship became a bridge between me and opportunities for learning. I’ve learned that success doesn’t just require diligence; it also requires kindness. Kindness, both from yourself and others, is what drives us to help ourselves and our community strive for improvement. In all, the wisdom I will carry with me is that success comes not only from diligence but also from the ability to be kind to yourself and give that same kindness to others.