‘BSI gave me opportunity to help my family, community’

Alexis P. Cabrera has been with Best Sunshine International’s corporate social responsibility team since October 2015. (Contributed Photo)

To some, there is always that common fear of coming home due to the uncertainty of finding a job or the lack of career opportunities.

Best Sunshine International, Ltd’s corporate social responsibility project manager Alexis Palacios Cabrera’s story of returning home to the islands is about a personal goal and passion of giving back to her family and community.

And hers is a story of success.

The valedictorian and an alumna from Kagman High School’s class of 2008 has always been known by her peers for her tenacity, hard work, and diligence in anything she pursues. Shortly after high school, she made the brave decision to leave the comfort of her home and continue to pursue her education in Portland, Oregon, where she spent the last seven years before returning to the islands.

“I was driven to pursue my education because I wanted to return to the CNMI to give back and help our community. Living in a region that is so distant from the mainland limits career exploration and opportunities,” said Cabrera. “At first, the transition from Saipan to Portland was hard because I was out of my element. I had to adjust and adapt to the change in culture, environment, and location. Many people believed in me and encouraged me through the years, and that is what drove me to work hard and return home.”

By June 2013, Cabrera had completed her Bachelor of Science in Psychology and Social Science and went on to pursue a Master of Arts in Educational Leadership and Policy, which she completed by June 2015. Cabrera mirrors what the younger generation of today is: Accomplished, educated, and driven.

She made the bold decision shortly after graduating from Portland State University to return to the CNMI to begin her career and follow suit with her promise to give back to the community.

“Though I always knew that I would return home, I had fears about finding a job when I returned, especially since the island was still recovering from Typhoon Soudelor. I had submitted several job applications, but did not find a job prior to returning,” said Cabrera.

Although she was unsure of what opportunities lay ahead, Cabrera bid adieu to her life in Oregon and returned to Saipan with sincere confidence that she made the right decision.

“Picking up and moving after seven years of being in Oregon was hard, though I was coming back home to be with my parents and sister, it was difficult leaving my grandmother and other family members in Oregon. However, I knew that by coming home I would be able to help my family,” said Cabrera.

It was only a few days after her arrival that she had stumbled upon her first job opportunity.

“Two days after arriving on Saipan, I was introduced to Tao Xing, the chief service officer of Best Sunshine International, during an outing with friends and conversations of job opportunities arose,” said Cabrera. “After several meetings, I began working for BSI within my first week of being back home.”

Cabrera shared of how fortunate she was to have found a job so quickly after arriving because it gave her a sense of security and stability as well as an opportunity to jumpstart her career.

“Best Sunshine has provided our people with an array of job opportunities to better establish themselves and their career. Through my job with BSI I have been able to help my family out in more ways than one, for example, helping both physically and financially. Having this job enables me to give back to my parents and to my island,” said Cabrera.

She was hired and is now a CSR project manager and work directly alongside the community and serving them rather than being constrained to a desk all day.

“What I enjoy most about my position is being able to go out into the community and effect positive change.  I love learning about the different programs, causes, and organizations out there and being able to offer our support. These past few months, we have worked with numerous organizations and agencies and I have met so many wonderful people in the community,” said Cabrera.

She is responsible in overseeing, planning, and implementing projects that better serve the community. Cabrera is also not afraid to get her hands dirty and believes in working side-by-side her colleagues in all projects executed by CSR.

“To the Corporate Social Responsibility team, thank you all so much for the hard work and dedication you have invested and for making my time back home fun and exciting.”

“It has been a blessing being back home and being able to give back to our island. I sincerely look forward for what is to come for not only myself, but for the CNMI as Best Sunshine continues to grow,” Cabrera added.