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14 graduate from Judiciary Summer Pre-law Program
Daughter of justice and judge among the graduates
In 1991, Ramona V. Manglona joined the first Judiciary Summer Pre-law Program, a three-week course intended to simulate the demands experienced by first-year law students. Manglona became a lawyer and is now the chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the NMI.
On Friday, Savana V. Manglona, daughter of Judge Manglona and Associate Justice John Manglona, graduated with 13 others from the same Summer Pre-Law Program.
“I feel great that we all finished the program,” Savana Manglona, 21, told Saipan Tribune after the graduation ceremony held in the CNMI Supreme Court.
Savana Manglona said they all started out not knowing what to expect but through the guidance of professors Robert J. Desiderio and Rose Cuison-Villazor, they learned a whole lot.
Savana remembered her mother saying that when she joined the same program in 1991 she was actually pregnant with her brother.
Savana will be entering her senior year at the University of California at Berkeley and will be applying to law school this fall.
Tina R. Cruz, 32, is color-blind and requires a wheelchair but that did not stop her from completing the program. She was in tears when she received her certificate.
“I’m proud of myself. I’m a role model for all people with disabilities,” said Cruz, a student of the Northern Marianas College.
To complete the program, Cruz’s nephew volunteered to come along in the class to assist her.
Carmen Borja, 20, said she really appreciated the three-week program, describing it as “so intense.” She said the guidance and mentorship the program provides goes beyond what is expected.
“It’s intense. It challenges the students to think beyond their comfort area and to analyze things,” said Borja, the daughter of Nora and Raymond Borja.
Since the CNMI Judiciary started the program in 1991, there have been eight programs already and Professor Desiderio taught six of them. There were only a few local lawyers back then but, as a result of this program, the number has grown dramatically, he said.
Desiderio practices law with Sanchez, Mowrer and Desiderio, P.C. in the areas of tax-exempt organizations, tax law, and business and commercial transactions. He is currently a professor emeritus at the University of New Mexico, teaching state and local taxation, tax-exempt organizations, and remedies.
Professor Cuison-Villazor said the 14 students are very hardworking, intellectually engaging, and critical thinkers.
Cuison-Villazor said the program is critical in promoting and supporting a new group of law students from the CNMI.
“It’s really important in promoting and supporting new aspiring law students and eventual lawyers,” she said.
She said she enjoys teaching the program.
“This is my second time doing it and it is an honor and privilege to be in the program again,” said Cuison-Villazor, who is a product of Mt. Carmel School.
Cuison-Villazor is a law professor at the University of California at Davis School of Law. She teaches and writes in the areas of property law, immigration law, race, and citizenship.
The graduates are Anthony H. Aguon from Portland State University, Carmen V. Borja of the University of Washington, Tina R. Cruz of the Northern Marianas College, Sahjahan H. Hossain of NMC, Savana V. Manglona of the University of California at Berkeley, Janina Maratita of Chaminade University, Jacklyn T. Mendiola of Portland State University, Maisie Lynn SN. Mesngon of NMC, Zalbert C. Palma of NMC, Susan S. Pascual of Manuel L. Quezon University in the Philippines, Gretchen A. Smith of the University of California at Los Angeles, Christopher A. Tenorio of the University of Oregon, Angelina T. Tretnoff of the University of Guam, and Dan Ryan B. Tumaquip of NMC.
