Philippine Science High School held its 4th Journalism Summit on July 25-27, 2016 at the Central Visayas Campus in Argao, Cebu. This 3-day summit aimed to educate the campus paper journalists and advisers on the latest trends in broadcasting and journalism, and develop their skills to become better contributors to their campus paper. Over 50 students from various campuses around the country, and more than 20 campus paper advisers, attended the summit.
The final day of the summit focused on the power of voice, and who better to speak about it than the Pocholo “The VoiceMaster” Gonzales! As a veteran voice artist, radio broadcaster and a pioneer of Philippine Youth Media, the VoiceMaster inspired the campus journalists to use their school paper as a means to inspire their fellow youth.
The VoiceMaster shared his own journey in broadcasting – how he started his voice acting career on radio after winning a radio drama and singing competition in DZMM, and at a young age, started his advocacy to give the Filipino youth a voice on radio with his organization Voice of the Youth Network. With his mission to inform, inspire, involve and empower the youth through broadcasting and ICT, Pocholo has taken VOTY from one radio program back in 1996 to up to 20 radio programs all over the Philippines – including provinces like Sorsogon, Bulacan, Tarlac, Bataan, Negros Oriental, General Santos, among many others. He also talked extensively about Dr. Jose Rizal, and encouraged the participants to take Rizal’s greatness and use that as a model to become great young citizens in this day and age.
After which, the VoiceMaster divided the class into small groups, who were assigned to perform a live news program in front of the class. After a few minutes of preparation and a short recess, Voice Care Philippines’ Executive Director Ada Cuaresma did a short presentation about voice. She shared her own experiences as a broadcaster for the youth, and how she has developed her own confidence and discovered her life purpose in the process. She also discussed proper breathing and taught the participants some voice exercises to help improve voice modulation.
The session ended with the students showcasing their skills and creativity in their radio broadcast.