NMC back in As Terlaje

The Northern Marianas College re-opened its As Terlaje campus yesterday to its students.

NMC resumed classes at its original location by greeting students with freshly grilled burgers and hotdogs, along with other refreshments and a new set of school supplies.

The resumption of morning classes signals the continuation of the Fall 2018 semester.

Fall morning classes have been on hold since Super Typhoon Yutu hit the CNMI last October 2018.

“I am pleased and happy with the turnout of our students as well as the community leaders that are here to support and welcome our students back,” NMC interim president Frankie Eliptico told Saipan Tribune yesterday.

Sens. Justo Quitugua (R-Saipan), Sixto Igisomar (R-Saipan), and Jude Hofschneider (R-Tinian) were among the few politicians that dropped by the campus yesterday morning. Reps. Ivan A. Blanco (R-Saipan) and Luis John Castro (R-Saipan), and acting governor Arnold I. Palacios were also spotted at the scene, along with Department of Fire and Emergency Medical Services Commissioner Claudio Norita, NMC Board of Regents chair Charles Cepeda, U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency Region XI administrator Bill Roche, and several other ranking officials of the CNMI government.

“We also had some private businesses here,” said Eliptico, noting TanHoldings president Jerry Tan and people from the Tan Siu Lin Foundation handing out laptop bags to the students.

“It was great. It shows that our students are committed to completing their semester and completing their journey toward their degree,” he said, adding that majority of the students that showed up yesterday morning were fall 2018 morning class students.

Some of the students Saipan Tribune interviewed yesterday were just as happy to get back on campus and closer to their degrees.

“My first class…was easy going,” said 21-year-old Husky V. Cucal, a senior taking up liberal arts. “I have been feeling okay since Super Typhoon Yutu hit and it is good to continue my education and work on finishing up my semester until I graduate…by next semester,” he said.

A 19-year-old nursing major who asked to be identified only by her first name, May, told Saipan Tribune that the temporary classrooms were intimidating at first but “when I went inside, it was really comfortable for everyone in class and kind of normal,” she said.

“[NMC] provides us with a lot of equipment [and they] gave us a lot of time to finish up our assignments, so it’s okay,” she added.

Twenty-year-old natural resource management major Sabrina Santos was excited to be back on campus.

“The classrooms are actually really nice and cold inside, so I can’t wait [to continue my classes],” she said. “It’s a decent classroom. I want to get the Fall 2018 semester over with so I can graduate next [spring].”