CDC alumnus and Rappler multimedia reporter Noli ‘Bonz’ A. Magsambol III won an award for the most outstanding online feature in the youth and education category in the 16th La Sallian Scholarum Awards (LSA) held by De La Salle University (DLSU) virtually on 26 March 2021.
His development-oriented winning piece, entitled No student left behind? During pandemic, education only for those who can afford, tackled the difficulties of the new blended learning approach that the Philippine education system has been compelled to adopt due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The article highlighted the challenges experienced by poor public high school students, their parents, and teachers in making blended learning work for them amidst financial and practical constraints. These challenges were lack of gadgets, limited Internet access, and absence of conducive learning spaces. Another piece of Magsambol, entitled Distance learning: A looming crisis for students with special needs, was also a finalist in the category. It likewise tackled remote learning, but as experienced by persons with disabilities (PWDs).
Bonz is a lecturer at the Department of Development Journalism (DDJ). He was also one of the resource speakers in DDJ Seminar Series Bithayan: Finding and Telling Newsworthy Stories in 2018.
Bonz earned his BS Development Communication degree, major in Development Journalism, from UPLB in 2015. (Miguel Victor T. Durian, with reports from Rappler.com. Photo from Rappler)