by Johanna Macababbad || Photo credit: PSHS-EVC FB Page

For three decades, an institution currently located in Pawing, Palo, Leyte, has been reaching incredible heights through its expertise, resilience, and vigor. The Philippine Science High School – Eastern Visayas Campus (PSHS – EVC) conducted the opening program for its 30^th founding anniversary via Zoom last April 1, with the theme, “Pisay ha Tulo ka Dekada: Kabatikan, Kakusgan, Kadasig.”

138 people, including students, faculty, and staff, attended the online event. Yvonne Esperas, current PSHS-EVC Campus director, welcomed the audience with an opening message, stating that the road to success may be difficult, but in the process, people can create milestones.

The program was followed by a slideshow of pictures dating back to the early Pisay years, and messages from the previous campus directors namely, Dr. Pedrito Padilla, Dr. Reynaldo Garnace, and Erick John Marmol, in which they talked about how PSHS-EVC has grown throughout these years.

“Like bamboo, we are pliant, no matter what we go through, let us always look back and recall the life we threaded years back, as we head on to another year, another decade. Even if challenges and troubles come… look ahead and say to ourselves, ‘We made it, we will continue to head as we face another decade, another milestone,'” Garnace stressed.

Dr. Helen Cativo Belanzor, a PSHS-EVC alumna from Batch 2000 and prolific scientist, relayed her experience in work. She also gave an insightful message on perseverance, stating that failure is natural, and by being resilient, a person can achieve whatever goals they set their mind to.

“Keep trying, keep persisting, show up every day to make the next small step. In a month, in a year, you made a giant step, getting closer to whatever it is you’re trying to achieve,” Belanzor said.

Fortunato de la Peña, Secretary of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), PSHS System Executive director Lilia Habacon, Alumni representative Catherine Bartoline-Ballon, and Parents-Teachers Association President Editha Huang, also gave their congratulatory messages. 

To conclude the event, students from Batch 2022 to 2027 wished the school a happy anniversary, with several further expressing that the school has become their home.