12 NMC students named Chamber scholars

The 12 students from the Northern Marianas College who are recipients of the 2020 Saipan Chamber of Commerce Scholarship pose with Chamber president Velma Palacios, Chamber executive director Maxine Lazslo, Chamber Education Committee members: Ty Pauling, Nicole Babauta, Ciara Ada, and Vickie Izuka. (BEA CABRERA)

The Saipan Chamber of Commerce awarded last week a total of $12,000 or $1,000 each to 12 Northern Marianas College students as part of efforts to support a local school and their students.

The awarding of scholarships was held at the SCC’s general membership meeting at the Hyatt Regency Saipan Ballroom and pivots from the Chamber previous awardees, who were mostly from off-island schools.

“We are very fortunate to collate $12,000 for the scholarship program with the help of our fundraisers like the golf tournament and, of course, the generosity of all of our members. With the pandemic, we thought we weren’t going to reach our goal but we were very fortunate to do so,” said Chamber president Velma Palacios. “We also are excited because this year we wanted to focus on local educational institutions like NMC and Northern Marianas Technical Institute. Sadly, we didn’t get [anyone] from NMTI this year but also glad that 12 students from NMC will be able to put the money to good use.”

The 12 Chamber scholars are Amber Quitano (Associate in Science: Nursing); Edieson Aguirre (Bachelor of Science in Education major in Special Education); Glen John Matalog (Bachelor of Science major in Business Management); Hee Jung Sin (Bachelor of Science in Education major in Elementary Education); Joselito Gomez (Bachelor of Science in Education major in Elementary Education); Katelyn Rabang (Associate of Arts major in Business); Leila Nawaz (Bachelor of Science in Education major in Elementary Education); Regina De Vero (Bachelor od Science in Education major in Rehabilitation and Human Services); Thomas William DLC. Benavente (Associate in Arts major in Liberal Arts); Trinity Camacho (Associate in Applied Science major in Criminal Justice); Victoria Bellas (Bachelor of Science major in Business Management/Associate in Arts major in Social Work); and Yi Huang (Associate of Science major in Nursing/Bachelor of Science major in Business Management Accounting).

The Chamber Education Committee Panel was composed of Ty Pauling of Hyatt Regency Saipan, Ciara Ada of Xerox Saipan, Nicole Babauta of the CNMI Small Business Development Center, and Vikie Izuka of First Hawaiian Bank.

According to Pauling, choosing the best is always difficult every year. “At the end of the day, in going through the process, you are not only dealing with the facts—GPA scores, recommendations, and essays. We are also dealing with a person. It’s the kind of the job of the committee to push through through standard questions in the interview process so we can really get to know that person and understand what’s their passion,” he said. “…Getting to know the person is the unique part of our scholarship because its just not about the performance but also about passion, the way that they present themselves and the way they want to represent the CNMI.”