CONGRATULATIONS, Edrian Paul Liao, member of Class 2021 of the Philippine Science High School – Cagayan Valley Campus (PSHS-CVC), for receiving admission offers from Duke University (USA) and Jacobs University (Germany)!

Edrian Paul Liao, a consistent honor student who hails from the City of Cauayan, Isabela, is now fully enrolled at Duke University, a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. He plans to major in Mechanical Engineering and pursue a certificate in Aerospace Engineering and a minor in Computer Science.

Liao is one of the 11 recipients of the Karsh International Scholarship Program created to bring together top students from all over the world.

The Karsh International Scholars Program provides eight semesters of full tuition, exact housing charges, standard meal plan, mandatory fees (including student activity, student service, student health, recreation, dining hall, mailbox, and registration fees), and access to Karsh Scholarship-specific research and special project funding during both the academic year and summer.

The scholarship grant shall cover the yearly expenses amounting to $82,000.

“It still feels surreal to be awarded a highly selective and prestigious scholarship. Never have I thought that a probinsyano like me would get chosen for such a scholarship,” Liao said.

Flying to the United States in August, Liao is the first Filipino recipient of the Karsh International Scholarship Program created in 2010. It is a merit-based full scholarship for international students at Duke University.

“My father’s a farmer. All these years I have seen how difficult it is to be a Filipino farmer – typhoons, monsoons, the weather in general, and the low income they get from it. That is why as an aspiring aerospace engineer, I also want to provide farmers with the microsatellites that could potentially aid in minimizing the harsh effects of these different phenomena. At least for this issue, I could be able to help and uplift the millions of farmers in the Philippines,” said Liao.

According to Liao, he would love to work for space agencies and companies like Boeing, SpaceX, and NASA, building spacecraft, satellites, and rovers for a positive common cause. Someday, he also wants to work for the newly-established Philippine Space Agency, applying what he learned from his education, work, and internship experiences.

Studying PSHS-CVC in Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya and staying at its dormitory, he describes his Pisay education to be both rigorous and enlightening.

“I learned a lot from my stay at Pisay and will forever remember them even after my undergraduate studies. Personally, I think that without Pisay, I would not be garnering these wonderful achievements,” Liao said.

He co-founded π-oneers (read as pioneers), a non-profit organization consisting of about 350 members all over the Philippines that offer free online tutorial in math and science to high school students.

“Just do what you can with resources that you have right now. If something bad comes up, ask for help from your teachers and peers. They’ll surely understand you. Or maybe you can message me. I’m only one chat away if you need academic guidance,” said Liao as his advice to Filipino students facing the challenges of remote/virtual learning.