It was a day filled with festivities and school pride as the longstanding STI Talent Search made its grand return at the Enchanted Kingdom. The event serves as a platform for STI students to be empowered in showcasing their talents beyond their academic pursuits.
The nationwide STI Talent Search is part of STI College’s commitment to produce well-rounded and future-ready graduates by fostering holistic growth and development of its students through its diverse co-curricular and extracurricular activities.
“For over 40 years, STI College has been nurturing students’ potential through academic and extracurricular activities. Consistently at the forefront of innovation, we provide our students with holistic learning and real-life experiences to help them become well-rounded individuals,” said Ferdie T. Dantes, STI Assistant Vice President for Academics
STI students shine like a star!
Over 22,000 students from various STI campuses across the country gathered to watch and cheer as their schoolmates and peers competed in four equally exciting competitions: Singing Idol (solo singing competition), Battle of the Bands (band competition), Hataw Sayaw (dance competition), and the much-anticipated Search for Mr. and Ms. STI 2023 pageant. Outstanding student musicians, dancers, heartthrobs, and darlings from eight clusters vied for the national titles.
Donalynne May Soriano from STI College Calamba was named as the STI Singing Idol National Champion with her impressive rendition of the classic Filipino ballad Bituing Walang Ningning while 4-piece band Haley from STI College Novaliches emerged as the Battle of the Bands National Champions with their own rock arrangement of the popular hit song Unholy.
With their electrifying dance number that took elements from locking, waacking, popping, and house dance styles, Project Atmos from STI College Ormoc was declared as the Hataw Sayaw National Champions. And finally, the search for the next Mr. and Ms. STI 2023 concluded with Harjit Chohan from STI College Caloocan and Kimberly Tinoy from STI College San Pablo taking the crowns home with their commendable performances from the opening introductions to the question-and-answer segment.
“Competitions like the STI Talent Search are an opportunity for us students to show our talents, gain exposure, and discover our individual characters. The confidence of each competitor also becomes more enhanced throughout the process of preparation and different stages of the competition,” said Maureen Freyja Melgazo, a member of Project Atmos and a BS Tourism Management student.
On top of the competitions, STIers also enjoyed performances from celebrity guests and performers who graced the event like GMA Kapuso actor Matthew Uy, among others, and were able to meet and interact with esteemed panel of judges per competition.
More upcoming student development activities in second semester
The STI Talent Search is just one facet of the student programs lined up for the academic year, as the institution eagerly prepares to kick off the Second Semester with an array of exciting, network-wide educational activities.
The Second Semester will feature events such as the National Youth Convention (NYC), a youth convention that spans for more than a decade now where thousands of STI students nationwide expand their knowledge in their chosen fields straight from the industry professionals.
Apart from NYC, STI College will also hold the annual Tagisan ng Talino (TNT) and Tagisan ng Sining (TNS), encompassing academic competitions like Think Quest (team quiz bee), CodeFest (mobile app development), Mix ‘n Flair (flair bartending), Travelogue (tour guiding), Chef Xpress (cooking competition), Shutter’s Best (photography competition), and Director’s Cut (video contest), among others.
To learn more about STI’s student programs and upcoming events, visit www.sti.edu.