By Daniel P. Tapaoan, Jr. 

Active and proactive, two student councils and an organization of Mariano Marcos State University (MMSU) prevailed as the top accomplished youth organizations in Ilocos Norte this year. 

In the search for Ilocos Norte Top Accomplished Youth and Organizations (INTAYON) 2022, the MMSU University Student Council (USC) emerged first place in the tertiary school-based organization category. USC topped the list for its Project Stallions Economic Enterprise Development (ProSEED). 

ProSEED is a business incubation program for students that aims to promote youth entrepreneurship. The project benefited 145 student organizations in the university which undergone training activities such as mentoring, business planning, startup pitch, and business implementation. 

Following USC were the Association of Tourism Management Students (ATOMS) of the College of Business, Economics and Accountancy, and the College of Engineering Student Council (COE-SC), finishing at second and third places, respectively. 

ATOMS was recognized for its Project Alikaka which is an outreach program that sought to provide counseling for the sheltered young girls in Parola Santuwaryo, Inc. in Laoag City. It aimed to boost the participants’ self-esteem and benefit their daily living by cooking.

Moreover, the COE-SC received the recognition for its Project Punlaan which involved a feeding program for children at the Navotas Housing Project in Laoag City and a volunteer work for the City of Batac National High School - Poblacion campus. 

The three MMSU student organizations received their awards during the Provincial Capitol Christmas Light Up ceremony held yesterday, December 12. 

INTAYON 2022 applicants submitted their developmental programs which were implemented from October 2021 to September 2022. 

Organized by the Ilocos Norte Youth Development Office, the annual search for accomplished youth and top organizations in the province involved six categories: individual, secondary youth organization, tertiary youth organization, community youth organization, Sangguniang Kabataan Council, and youth development officer. (HLY/JVBT, StratCom)