23 July 2025
Senior High School students from the Technical-Vocational-Livelihood (TVL) and General Academic Strand (GAS) of De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde recently completed the second batch of this year’s Animo Create: Benildean Youth Shaping What’s Next, a three-day design thinking workshop led by the Hub of Innovation for Inclusion (HiFi).
Held from July 2 to 4 at the Augusto-Rosario Gonzalez Theater and Benilde HiFi innovation spaces, the workshop guided students through the full design thinking cycle: empathize, define, ideate, prototype, and test. This latest run builds on the success of the first Animo Create workshop held in June, where ABM strand students developed solutions for transportation, disaster preparedness, and mental wellness. Their projects included a real-time train information system, a flood survival kit, and a portable aromatherapy device.
Throughout the workshop, students worked in teams to identify relevant social challenges, generate user-centered ideas, and prototype impactful solutions. Three standout projects emerged from the final pitch presentations:
- BeInclusive – A powerful workshop designed to create safe spaces and spark honest, judgment-free conversations around identity, background, and belonging. The initiative helps post-pandemic students feel seen, heard, and supported.
Senior Coach: Nolz Araral
Baby Coach: Matthew Maglines
Members: Sophia Isabel Cirilos, Sirc Jetro Geneza, Shannen Torres, Casey Manguiat, Reign Narvacan - SENYAS by Team ABYSS – A smart eBook and curriculum policy hybrid that champions sign language education. With both digital and print formats, SENYAS aims to build a Benilde that listens not just with its ears, but with its eyes, heart, and hands—in collaboration with institutions like SDEAS and the Philippine Federation of the Deaf.
Senior Coach: Kenneth Baltazar
Baby Coach: Alison Nengasca
Members: Journey Fernando, Renzo Gabriel, Alessia Soliven, Helice Gevana, Sophia Navalle - HainGo – A wellness solution that feeds both the body and mind. Through affordable, healthy meals paired with a wellness app, HainGo promotes better habits, local farming, and student well-being—one meal at a time.
Senior Coaches: Normina Aglibut, Hillary Handayan
Baby Coach: Issy Macabalitao
Members: Mark Zoey Chy, Diana Kissia Azeca Esler, Stephanie Tan, Beatriz Villaflor, Denise Garillo
