December 5, 2023
Tzu Chi scholar and teammates bag top honors in Tagisan ng Talino
By Joy Rojas
Tzu Chi scholar Edrian Delos Reyes was part of the team that emerged overall champion of Tagisan ng Talino, a Quiz Bee-type competition held at the 33rd Foundation Day of their school, Divine Mercy College Foundation, Inc. (DMCFI), last November.
Together with teammates Princess Joy Tolentino (first year, Bachelor of Science in Information Technology) and Ralph Alec Legaria (third year, Bachelor of Science in Information Technology), Edrian bested 14 groups in questions covering general information, science and technology, and mathematics. The trio each received a certificate and divided the cash prize of P3,000 among themselves.
That Edrian is legally blind due to Leber's Hereditary Optic Neuropathy doesn’t stop him from living life to the fullest. In class, the fourth year BS Computer Science major uses a laptop to take down notes, and software programs like a screen reader to read any text in his computer out loud to him. For Tagisan ng Talino, Edrian, whose forte is math, solved quiz problems by filling large illustration boards with his oversized computations.
“I’m very happy. Even with my visual impairment, I can still do many things. It motivates me to do better in school,” he says. “My professors and classmates are also happy for me. They can see that someone with poor eyesight can still be a champion.”
Being a Tzu Chi scholar certainly enhances his academic performance. “The Tzu Chi Foundation is such a big help to me and my family,” says the son of a single mother. “Before I became a scholar in the second semester of my third year in college, I always worried about where we were going to get the money to pay for my education. Was I going to have to write another promissory note?”
“Now, my being a senior in college is the lightest I’ve felt mentally,” says Edrian, who just learned his scholarship was renewed for another year. “Even if I have a thesis defense and on-the-job training to think about, the burden of where we’re going to get the resources for my tuition is over. I can focus completely on my studies.
“Thank you, Tzu Chi, for your continued support and the lessons you impart in every Humanity class. Thank you very much.”
Tzu Chi scholar Edrian Delos Reyes (second from right) and his teammates Princess Joy Tolentino (third from right) and Ralph Alec Legaria (second from left) proudly hold up their certificates as overall champions of Tagisan ng Talino, a Quiz Bee-type competition held during the 33rd Foundation Day of their school, Divine Mercy College Foundation, Inc. (Photo from Edrian DeLos Reyes’ Facebook page)
Edrian Delos Reyes (left) and his mom Felicitas attended the Reapplication program for Tzu Chi scholars last September. Diagnosed at 15 with Leber's Hereditary Optic Neuropathy, the BS Computer Science major from Divine Mercy College Foundation, Inc. needs to hold his cellphone close to his face to read its contents.
Edrian Delos Reyes (center) and his mother Felicitas (left) turn over a coin can donation to Tzu Chi Education Committee volunteer Rosa So (right).