Batch Polyplex: Bounded And Diving As One

by Camille Faith Duran (Polyplex)

Polyplex is a synthetic complex of protein polymers and nucleic acids used as a nonviral vector in gene delivery, a process involving the introduction of foreign material such as DNA and/or RNA into a host cell to induce gene expression. It is commonly used in gene therapies where it aims to treat diseases such as cancer, immune system-related diseases, blood diseases, and more. 

14 new individuals bound by the same goal dived into the gene pool, similar to how new DNA is introduced into a host cell bounded by a Polyplex. Camille Faith Duran, Alyssa Ausa, Loriejoice Anne Manalo, Nelieza Tubeza, Kyle Anikehn Francisco, Hannah Lim Cueto, Jessica Mae Cortezano, Jonalyn Jame Catedrilla, Drew Kyla Baysa, Rosel Francheska de Grano, Bryan Harold Vital, BS Biology students; and Aljon Garcia, and Angelo Hernandez, BS Agriculture students. To know more about them, here are statements about their interests, dreams, and passions.

Camille Faith Duran

Camille is an intuitive and perceptive thinker that likes to explore things beyond her circle. She has a curious mind and her range of interests is wide as she’s fond of history, specifically the genealogy of the England Royal Family; different music genres—from classical to jazz to pop and rock; art—both classical and modern; novels such as Murakami and Coelho, and science. She’s also ambitious in that she tried not only academic-related things, but also art and performance. She likes to draw and paint anime, cartoons, realistic portraits, and even design characters, as well as write calligraphies in different styles. She also does digital art such as design and layout, to the point that doing so is no longer a job, but rather a hobby. For her appreciation of performance art, she learned to play the piano, guitar, and ukulele and even went on auditions for various programs to express and hone her abilities, and experience new things. Camille also enjoys writing poems ever since she was in high school. She believes in what Anne Frank quotes that “people tend to think a lot but they don’t say much”, and so she pours her ideas and feelings into poems. She keeps a record of journals as a memento of  her unspoken feelings, and as a shoulder to help her whenever she’s confused and pained. Through her emotions, she even wrote some songs from her poems to express herself when words alone can’t contain it anymore. She likes doing things and making herself busy, for she believes that keeping her mind busy with productive things diverts her mind from overthinking and being negative. She’s shy at first, but whenever a situation calls, she’s ready to adjust herself and do her best to give her hand and take the challenge. She loves to appreciate things no matter how tiny they are.

Alyssa Mae Ausa

Alyssa, or Aly, as her friends call her, is known to be a shy and timid girl. She looks quiet and reserved, but once you get to know her better, she can talk to you non-stop. She likes to watch Korean dramas, American and British series, Filipino movies, and many more. However, she doesn't like scary genres. She also reads books, especially fiction with magic and fairy tales. Her choice of songs is random and depends on her mood, but she specifically likes boybands such as One Direction and BTS. She participated in a few school pageants before and also joined workshops for modeling, singing, dancing, and playing the piano. She loves to perform even though she is not an excellent performer. During her 9th grade, she was homeschooled and auditioned in PBB 737 and some VTRs. Being the eldest of four girls, she loves playing with children and taking care of them, but she herself is still a child at heart, as she still watches Barbie movies and other cartoons in Disney and Cartoon Network. Although, she wishes to be more responsible and mature in making decisions. Her dream is to be a doctor ever since she was a child. During senior high school, she tried acting in school projects and she even joined a theater group. Her favorite subject in school is mathematics, and she loves solving problems and feels a sense of accomplishment whenever she solves a problem. However, her passion is helping other people and she thinks that being a doctor will help her achieve that.

Loriejoice Anne Manalo

Lorie is a timid and quiet girl from Kawit, Cavite. Being a dog lover, she is the mother of three dogs. She likes watching anime, and reading manga, webtoons, and books, mostly shounen, mystery, and thriller genres. During her highschool days, she developed her interest and skill in video and photo editing. It may not seem likely but she also likes playing games such as League of Legends, horror games, and especially music games. Though she is currently a sophomore student studying Biology, her favorite subject is mathematics. One interesting fact about her is that she has a collection of eight different kinds of Rubik's cubes. She also loves playing the piano and uploads some covers when she has the time. Being a music enthusiast, Lorie also listens to a wide range of music genres from K-Pop to pop punk and rock songs, although some people say that her taste in rock music is misaligned with her personality since she is always quiet. She compares herself to a piano, and the people around her as the pianist. She is too shy to be the one to approach people first. If you press the keys lightly, the piano will only produce a soft sound, just like her, as she may usually be awkward and overthinks about how to keep up a conversation when facing new people. However, she will eventually be louder if you press the keys harder similar to a piano. She is a diligent student and is  aspiring to be a doctor.

Nelieza Tubeza

Nelieza’s personality is quite an interesting mix. She may seem loud, outgoing, and friendly, but in fact, she is an introvert. She’s awkward at times but when paired with someone who knows how to get a conversation going, she’ll surely spill the beans about herself and they might eventually become friends. Under her curly crown, her mind loves going places as she frequently zones out. She is quite an observer - she loves learning new interesting things and loves to notice the smallest unusual things.  But just like any other person with a goal in mind, Nelieza’s not all about the funny things. She dreams to work in a hospital even though she will not pursue medicine. Her dream career is to save people’s lives inside a laboratory to help doctors diagnose and treat patients. With the goal to serve the people, she is one who perseveres and aims to achieve.

Faye Escobido

Faye was born on May 18 in the hot summer of 1998, coming a long way from Cagayan de Oro City in order to finish her degree program in BS Biology, major in Genetics in UPLB. However, she did not start out as a Biology student when she first entered the university and was initially taking a degree in Computer Science for about a year and a half before shifting to Biology, and eventually falling in love with her major. Faye describes herself to be shy and awkward in a crowd she isn’t familiar with, but to people who know her well she can be very loud and funny. Faye also has a deep appreciation for the arts, may it be visual, musical, or anything that involves being creative. This explains why she used to draw a lot as a kid and also sing in the choir if given the chance. Despite being in a choir, she explores and listens to different genres, including K-Pop and even rock. She is also quite interested in sports and plays a bit of volleyball and basketball whenever possible, as she used to play back in high school. Faye aspires to become a doctor, and, however cliche this may sound, she has this vision to be able to serve people by being in the medical field.

Kyle Anikehn Francisco

As of now, Kyle is on his second life. He was once hit by a bus when he was 11 years old and luckily, he survived. His perspective on life after that incident was forever altered. He now perceives life and its facets with a deeper meaning and understanding. He always wants to see the logical reason in all that surrounds him. Kyle holds his principles and values on a pedestal and follows them religiously. However, when you first meet him you would not notice this aspect of his personality, rather, you would find standing in front of you someone who cracks a lot of unexpected jokes because one of his most valued principles in life is to enjoy it as much as possible with the people around him. He has a lot of different hobbies that he does in order to pass the time. He knows how to play basketball, play the guitar and sing. He is a proud and articulate speaker, and he reads novels dearly. Kyle is most definitely someone you’d want to hang out with. His burning passion is to become an outstanding doctor in order to help people, get rich, help his family and help more people. He has his eyes locked in on the future and will do all that he can to reach his goals no matter the obstacles. 

Aljon Garcia

Aljon loves telling stories to different people about anything under the sun. During his free time, he searches for facts that are unrelated in his field of study. He has his own Avocado tree and loves plants in general. He plays Ultimate Frisbee as a recreational sport and is a player for UPLB. He is an aspiring doctor and wants to immerse himself in remote areas where doctors are few. 

Hannah Lim Cueto

Born on the 5th of February in Batangas, Hannah describes herself as someone timid and shy, but friendly and fun once you get to know her. She loves to play volleyball and enjoys spending her time watching K-dramas, Netflix series, and random dog videos on the Internet. As the first born of the family, hardwork and perseverance were already instilled in her at a young age. But as she grew up, she realized that working hard with passion is another thing. She is passionate about helping people, particularly, her dream is to become a doctor someday and serve the people through medicine. She lives with the principle, “do not do unto others what you do not want them to do to you.” According to her, this keeps her grounded, humble, and kind to others.

Jessica Mae Cortezano

Jessie, born on May 1 at Sta. Cruz, Laguna is a goal-oriented person. She is passionate about her dreams, and becoming a doctor and serving rural areas for free is one of them. Although her parents are not a hundred percent in favor of this dream of hers, she still pursues it and still does her best. Furthermore, she loves watching youtube vlogs, sharing memes, reading novels and reacting to social issues.  She might look tough on the outside due to her features, but she has a soft heart and sees the good in everything. She might not be the kindest but she can be one of your truest friends.

Angelo Collo Hernandez

Angelo is a clever kind of person. He is passionate in serving God and other people. He enjoys studying the physiology of both animal and plant systems, which is why after his degree in Agriculture, he's eager to pursue a degree in Medicine. He spent his leisure time reading and watching educational videos on YouTube. Also, he is an avid fan of One Republic. Further, He believes on what Roy Bennet quoted that “Attitude is a choice. Happiness is a choice. Optimism is a choice. Kindness is a choice. Giving is a choice. Respect is a choice. Whatever choice you make makes you. Choose wisely.” He always strives to achieve greater excellence by choosing what suits his capabilities and skills.

Jonalyn Jame Catedrilla

Jona goes with her gut feeling most of the time, basing decisions on what she feels is the right thing to do. She loves to go with the flow to experience more in life. She is perceptive of other people that surround her and she helps them as long as she can. Jona is imaginative and curious about a lot of things under the sun. She is open to new learnings and opinions that is in contrast to what she already knows. It takes time for her to open up to others, but is a fun person to be with once you are close with her. She loves to joke around and can lighten the mood. Watching movies, series, anime, and k-dramas, and reading manga, novels, short fiction stories are things that she does during her leisure time. Jona recommends the short story, “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas”, it is a good story that will make you question human morality, as well as your own. She rocks her head to classical music, particularly to Vivaldi: Winter like it’s heavy metal music. Acrylic painting and drawing are things she also does in her spare time. Organisms and their environment are topics that sparks her interest the most.

Drew Kyla Baysa

Drew is not your typical student-athlete. While she juggles being a varsity of the UPLB Women’s Basketball Team by night and being a BS Biology student by day, there’s more in between than what meets the eye. She’s the official photographer of the UPLB BL and a one-time social media manager. She tried bartending at the age of 16 because of her interest in a specific organic compound in which the OH or the hydroxyl functional group is bound to carbon, or in other words, alcohol. She’s also the official sous chef of the family, next to her dad. Technically, she likes knowing a lot of things. She loves to read autobiographies and philosophical books. Apart from being a reader, she was a previous editor-in-chief/feature writer on their JHS school paper and would compile hard drafted poems for an open mic Spoken Word Poetry event.  You can strike a conversation with her by using anime, science, philosophy and food recipes. As a previous BS Industrial Engineering student, her favorite subject is Calculus. You can make her do everything on stage; sing, dance, act, host, and more as long as it doesn’t involve playing musical instruments.

Rosel Francheska de Grano

Cheska is a shy girl from Batangas, which is why other people think that she is not approachable. But when you get to know her more, she can be so loud that you'll regret you approached her. She likes to listen to korean songs, specifically to EXO. During her free time, she watches videos of her idols if she isn’t already sleeping. But most of the time she sleeps during her vacant hours. She loves to sleep that even though her schoolwork is not yet finished, if she felt like she wants to sleep, she will sleep without hesitation. Even though she took up BS Biology as her degree program, her favorite subject is not science, but mathematics, which, according to her,  is odd since many people dislike math.

Bryan Harold Vital

Bryan is a free-spirited person who pursues everything that catches his interest. He is shy at first, but when you get to know him, he’s a really kind and fun person. He was raised in Marikina City, the shoe capital of the Philippines. He grew up seeing their shoe factory business everyday, which is why he knows the procedure and has the skills to make shoes and sandals. During his childhood, various sports like basketball, chess, table tennis, and badminton were taught to him. He doesn't look like an athlete but he really enjoys playing sports. In his vacant hours, he loves to watch western TV series as well as korean dramas. He also loves to read light novels and japanese manga. When it comes to movies, he loves to support the local independent film industry. In the future, Bryan wants to be a doctor. He aims to start research to find cures to any "unfair" diseases like cancer. His love for the study of life led him to the degree program of BS Biology. With this, he seeks to discover the secrets of life, literally. 

As these new Genes grow closer with the organization, they aspire to be well-rounded individuals and better versions of themselves. As the batch name Polyplex suggests, the batch is bounded by a vector and together, they have entered the organization and the community, transcending excellence and emanating passion to serve the people.

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Photo courtesy of and edited by Alexis Gin Malagotnot (Cybrid)