18 students complete TanHoldings internship program

The 18 graduates of the TanHoldings Summer Internship Program pose with the TanHoldings executive during the completion ceremony last Tuesday at the Hibiscus Hall of the Fiesta Resort & Spa Saipan. (Contributed Photo)

Eighteen students successfully hurdled their first step toward entering the CNMI workforce by concluding their summer internship with TanHoldings last Tuesday.

The interns finished the six-week program and received their certificates of completion from TanHoldings executives led by CEO Jerry Tan last Tuesday at the Hibiscus Hall of Fiesta Resort & Spa Saipan.

The 18 students were Chrisley Mari Abrigo, Christine Beceril, Christian Bravo, John Ezekiel Canape, Karl Codog, Jake Datu, Gwyneth Enriquez, Abigail Galang, Kelly Guevarra, Sue Ann Huevos, Magdalena Lieto, Kiara Manganti, David and Charissa Parco, Jedidah Peteru, Elijah San Jose, Hanna Santos, and Aerrol Velasco.

The TanHoldings Summer Internship Program ran from June 24 to Aug. 5, with the 18 interns assigned to TanHoldings affiliates: Century Insurance, CTSI Logistics, D&Q, Century Travel, iShop, Realty Management System, SeaTouch, Kanoa Resort, and Fiesta Resort & Spa Saipan.

“It was summer well spent. At first, I was hesitant to take the program, because I am scared of interacting with a lot of people—it’s out of my comfort zone,” said Enriquez, who just graduated from Saipan Southern High School and is going to Northern Marianas College to pursue higher education.

Enriquez was surprised to find herself enjoying dealing with her co-workers and clients and being patient doing paperwork.

For Charissa Parco, the program gave her an idea of the career path she wants to pursue.

“I like Century Insurance and the idea of convincing people they need security because you’ll never know what’s going to happen next. Also, I enjoyed Fiesta and SeaTouch because we’re able to interact with the tourists. Tourism is big in the CNMI and it’s good to learn how companies operate to keep the industry thriving,” said Parco, a Marianas High School graduate who will be going to a college in Japan.

Canape has two more years before he completes high school but, this early, he is grateful for the opportunity to participate in a program that would prepare him for a future career.

“I was tasked to be at the front desk to work with people who speak different languages. The language barrier was really a challenge, but we were told to stay calm and focused and always have a ready smile,” said Canape, an incoming junior at MHS.

Each intern was deployed to a different TanHoldings affiliate each week and given hands-on experience within different departments. All in all, each intern was exposed to four different businesses.

Catherine Attao-Toves, TanHoldings vice president for Corporate Affairs and Human Resources, and Corporate HR office manager Joshlyn Blas facilitated the program.

“Each job, whether big or small, is important to the company’s success. Whether you are assigned to answering phone calls or submitting reports, you have to be at your best to get the job right,” Attao-Toves said.

Respecting one’s job is also important, according to Datu, who once worked at Kanoa Resort’s housekeeping department.

“I used to think that making the bed is easy, but it isn’t. Now, I have high respect for people doing this kind of job, including the engineering department,” Datu said.

At the graduation ceremony, while listening to the interns reflect on their experiences, Tan was proud of how the program has achieved its goals.

“Appreciating and respecting one’s work is something you can’t easily learn unless you experience doing it. I am glad that our interns experienced things that their hardworking parents do, the jobs are not easy and would require dedication for one to keep doing them,” Tan said.

“This program will also help them realize their potentials and the opportunities available to them. I hope they will pursue the job they love to do and do it well for the benefit of not only themselves and their families, but for the CNMI. …One of the challenges we are facing now is the lack of a strong workforce, so training young people will help us address this hurdle in the near future,” he added.