TSL Foundation donates $8K scholarships to NMTI students

  Donald Norita, 37, has been a student for a year and six months now at the Northern Marianas Trades Institute in Lower Base. Yesterday, he was presented with a $400 scholarship so he could continue attending his construction 1 class at NMTI for six more months.

“It will help me pay for my tools, tuition,” said the beaming Norita who has three children.

Norita was among the 20 NMTI students who received scholarships worth $400 each for a total of $8,000 from the Tan Siu Lin Foundation.

Tan Holdings president Jerry Tan handed the donation yesterday to the students at the NMTI building in Lower Base.

Ed Arriola Jr., Tan Siu Lin Foundation corporate affairs manager, said the donation is part of Tan Holdings’ 40th anniversary series of events throughout the year.

Arriola said another batch of 20 scholarships worth a total of $8,000 will also be donated to deserving NMTI students in the next few months.

“We always feel great about NMTI and everything they’re doing for the community. It is a great learning institution. Jerry really loves this school. And the school needs a lot more help,” Arriola said.

He said a lot of people at NMTI are taking classes to become future auto mechanics, plumbers, carpenters-even chefs and those learning how to do housekeeping.

“They all try to learn new skills here. Some of these people here maybe have other jobs but they want to try something new, learn something new. So it’s a good opportunity for them to try it out,” he said.

Arriola said that Tan, who always encourages people to better themselves, shares the same principles with NMTI founder Anthony Pellegrino.

Pellegrino himself said he is very overwhelmed and honored that Tan and the Tan Siu Lin Foundation sees fit to assist them and recognize the efforts of the NMTI administration.

“This is for the good of the community, we’re slowly training our own local workforce which we have to very, very badly,” Pellegrino said. “I’m very honored that Jerry Tan came this morning and awarded us a substantial cash award. And I want to say thank you very much.”

The NMTI founder hopes that the rest of the community, other agencies, and other companies will visit them and see what they can do for the people, their company and for the community together.

“We have to work together. We live together, we have to work together,” he said.

Founded in 2008, NMTI will be celebrating its fourth year this July.

Pellegrino said NMTI has already produced hundreds who are now working with different agencies, hotels, and a lot of companies.

“I would say about 60 percent of our students are currently working, maybe in auto repair shops, some own businesses, some at the hotels. A lot of our students are at the CUC [Commonwealth Utilities Corp.] as replacement of nonresident workers,” he said.

“It’s a continuing process. It takes a long time to do it but it’s happening,” he added.