Triumph of the Quest: QuakeQuest Journey of Manresa School Student Participants

From the 7th of September 2024 to the 23rd of November 2024, the QuakeQuest was held by the UP Resilience Institute (UPRI). This 3-month datathon promoted the theme: Unleashing Innovations in Seismology through Arts, Engineering, and Research. 

Three student representatives from Grade 12 St. Matthew participated in this event, namely: Ralph Sevilla, Daryl Cadelina, and Nathan Botial. These students had formed a team to participate in a series of competitions, known as quests, throughout the QuakeQuest, utilizing the UPRI’s archived seismic data in their own project. 

The QuakeQuest was divided into two main parts: the Qualifying Round, and the Final Round. The qualifying round, taking place from the 7th of September to the 23rd of November, included multiple quests such as crash courses by professionals in seismology, and output-based activities such as memes/comic strips, project proposals, reels, and poster presentations among others. By participating in the various events in the qualifying round, teams are able to create and improve their own seismology-related projects and gather points that may advance them to the final round. The final round, featuring an oral presentation of the project created by the teams, took place exclusively on the 23rd of November 2024. It was only to be participated by the top 5 teams from the qualifying round.

“We didn't ‘win’, but what we got out of it was so much better than any 1st place prize. We got scouted by one of the engineers of UPRI and had a meeting with the president, discussing a partnership which we accepted. We were so glad our hard work paid off in the end, and I'm excited to share our project once it's ready.” – Ralph Sevilla, student representative.

Regardless of going home with a trophy or not, the real triumph the competitors had achieved was the lesson and their enthusiasm to continue their project for the betterment of society.