Last March 6 to 7, universities and colleges from Western Visayas travelled to Bacolod City to attend the 17th IT Regional Congress by the Philippine Society of Information Technology Students-Western Visayas (PSITS-WV) at The Pavilion Hotel. The event has the theme, “To The Frontiers of Multimedia.” St. Paul University Iloilo sent its representatives with two IT Teachers, Mr. Medard Samson and Ms. Mary Grace Araneta, to participate in numerous events like the Quiz Bowl and Programming Contests. Aeriel Jilliane Gomez, a fourth year Paulinian of Bachelor of Science in Information Technology, participated in the Digital Arts Competition, and against 30 competitors, she won champion.

Entries on the Digital Arts Competition were judged according to substance and originality (50%), relevance to the theme (30%), and visual impact (20%). Competitors were tasked to create outputs that displayed the idea: “Use your smile to change the world, but don’t let this world change your smile.” Impassioned by the theme, Aeriel created an image that reflected her observation that many people nowadays appear to show two types of smile. One is a smile that is triggered by pure joy and happiness, while the other kind of smile is forced, driven by the belief that the surrounding reality is only a passing joke. An advocate of environmental stewardship, Aeriel hoped that her artwork would inspire young people to assess their actions before doing something that could endanger the environment. When asked what message she wanted to convey with her artwork, Aeriel asserted, “We should not be blinded by false beliefs and make a move to inspire others to contribute something for the betterment of our environment.”

Inspired by Steve Jobs and Walt Disney’s Little Mermaid, Aeriel wants to be a graphic designer and work in Apple. She believes that Graphic Artists can change the world for “images have the more power to change minds.” When asked to give advice to aspiring graphic artists, she said, “Be passionate!”