The 36 Filipinos awarded Chevening scholarships are officially welcomed by British Ambassador to the Philippines Daniel Pruce (first row, sixth from left) before they are sent off to London to take up their yearlong postgraduate degrees. PHOTO COURTESY OF THE BRITISH EMBASSY MANILA
The Inquirer’s digital content editor, Sara Isabelle Pacia, heads a record-breaking number of Filipinos who have been awarded the prestigious Chevening Scholarships by the British government to pursue postgraduate degrees in the United Kingdom.
The 36-strong batch for school year 2018-2019 is the biggest contingent from the Philippines since the UK scholarship program began accepting Filipinos in 1984, beating last year’s number of 27 scholars.
Chevening had over 50,000 applicants worldwide this year.
Pacia will pursue a master’s degree in Media and Communications (Data and Society) at the London School of Economics and Political Science.
At the official sendoff for the scholars at the British Embassy on Thursday last week, British Ambassador to the Philippines Daniel Pruce cited the important role the Chevening community played in building bridges between countries.
Quality education
“[The program] is a success because of the quality of education that you will all experience during your year in the UK,” he said. “Chevening scholars share the best their country has to offer with those they meet in the UK, and then share the best the UK has to offer when they return home.”
This year’s scholars come from a variety of fields, including law, health, public policy, sciences and environmental studies, art studies, education, gender studies and urban development.
The 36 Filipinos also include scholars from Zamboanga, Palawan, Dumaguete and Cebu provinces.
440 scholars so far
The rest of the 35 scholars this year are:
- Jan Michael Vincent Abril
- Nassef Adiong
- Adjani Arumpac
- Marysol Astrea Balane
- Louise Mari Bautista
- Rogelio Braga
- Denese Cabigting-De Guzman
- Van Joseph Capili
- Mario Cerilles Jr.
- Michelle Dominique Chua
- Pamela Combinido
- Kishra Dawabi
- Nerissa De Guzman
- Jose Emmanuel Micael Eva VIII
- Abdul Nassif Faisal
- Paul John Gesta
- Marie Michelle Go
- Jennifer Rachel Horn
- Romulo Gabriel Kintanar
- Carina Estella Laroza
- Richard Laurito
- Abner Lawangen
- Coleen Claudette Luminarias
- Nicolette Luna
- Marie Krizel Malabanan
- Cecilia Angela Martinez-Miranda
- Amelia Lourdes Mendoza
- Rio Grace Otara
- Enrique Jose Pastor
- Anne Janelle Rabe
- Ryan Jay Roset
- Jay Patrick Santiago
- Marco Antonio Luisito Villanueva Sardillo III
- Adrian Donald Segui
- Rowena Tolentino
The Filipino students are joining 1,765 scholars from 141 countries.
The Philippines has sent 440 scholars to the Chevening program since 1984.