Seven of the school's talented students from grades 10-12 joined the National Youth Congress competitions last November 2023 at the University of the Philippines. The school placed first runner-up at the Economics Quiz Bee Competition and placed as a finalist (top 10) in the Idea Pitch competition.
Tara Mohammad and Anika Uy, both of Grade 11 Hezekiah, participated in essay writing and extemporaneous speaking competitions respectively on the first day. In line with the provided topic, Tara wrote a compelling article regarding the gig economy while Anika spoke about the impacts of fast fashion.
The Idea Pitch competition took place on the second day of the competition; the MHCS team was composed of Enoch Samson of Grade 12 Revelation, Tara, Anika, and Rachel Chua of Grade 11 Hezekiah, and Vian Ching of Grade 10 Amaziah. Each team was tasked to give an innovative idea revolving around AI for a business pitch. The MHCS team settled on a pitch introducing an app that uses AI to streamline mental health screening processes and make it easier for people to connect with professional counselors. They named the app "PsycheAI", and presented the concept to a panel composed of experts in the field of business and AI. Following that, the team took questions from the panel and used that as an opportunity to highlight the strengths and uniqueness of their pitch.
In the afternoon, the quiz bee competition took place. The MHCS team was made of Jerome Tan of Grade 12 Revelation, Vincent Chan of Grade 12 Hebrews, and Vian Ching of Grade 10 Amaziah. The quiz bee content focused on the different aspects of economics, such as its history, micro and macroeconomics, and economic policy in the Philippines. The members took turns in representing the team for the easy, average, and difficult rounds for the elimination round, in which MHCS barely qualified for the final round, placing 5th in overall points.
In the final round, the team was able to work together to answer the questions provided by the quizmaster, and despite lagging behind in the easy and medium rounds, the team showcased their strengths in computation in the difficult round, outscoring all the other teams and finishing in a comfortable second place. The entire MHCS delegation joyously celebrated upon the conclusion of the competition and the announcement of the scores.
Finally, the delegation participated in the social's night at the end of all the competitions that doubled as an awarding ceremony. Following an opening message from former Senator Francis "Kiko" Pangilianan, the participants of the competition gathered together for a night of games, interaction, and fun. Congratulations to the MHCS delegation to NYC, and to God be the Glory!
Story by Julia Arellano
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