Three Inquirer scholars graduated magna cum laude from the University of the Philippines Diliman yesterday.
Journalism graduates Jennifer Corazon Cabildo, Matthew Samuel Reysio-Cruz and Krixia Zhienelle Subingsubing received the Philippine Daily Inquirer certificate of excellence during graduation rites of the College of Mass Communication held at UP Cine Adarna.
Reysio-Cruz said being an Inquirer scholar opened up a lot of opportunities for him, such as being chosen as sole winner of the global search for the Michael Konig Young Journalist Bursary.
The award entailed a weeklong internship program at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in France, where the Inquirer is the country representative.
The undergraduate thesis of Subingsubing on the implementation of the e-UP project was cited best in investigative journalism.
The four-part series on the state-funded information technology project also won first prize in the 2016 Philippine Journalism Research Conference.
Cabildo and Reysio-Cruz’s investigative series on children in conflict with the law in Metro Manila was a finalist in the same conference. She plans to go to law school and become a newspaper columnist.
The scholars thanked the Inquirer for its support and for the training they received during their internship in the newspaper.
“As an intern, I went beyond my comfort zone and I surprised even myself with what I was able to do,” Cabildo said.
The internship “gave me unmatched training when it came to thinking on my feet, developing an angle and beating the deadline,” said Reysio-Cruz, who looks forward to being an investigative reporter covering human rights in developing countries and in conflict zones.
“I always [find] myself in the thick of the action—shadowing veteran reporters, interviewing bigwigs, making taglines [or bylines, on lucky days]. I learned how to be urgent but careful, to be relentless in asking questions, to function under high pressure,” Subingsubing said.