6 students win SCC scholarships

Six students from five different schools in the CNMI were presented to the public yesterday after being chosen to receive the 2014 Saipan Chamber of Commerce Scholarship Award. The announcement was held during the Chamber’s membership meeting at the Saipan World Resort.

Joey P. San Nicolas explains his resignation as attorney general at a news briefing yesterday at the Office of the Attorney General’s Criminal Division in Susupe. San Nicolas is running for mayor of Tinian this November. (Ferdie de la Torre)

This year’s batch of Chamber scholars are Ginny Wu of Mount Carmel School, Kanata Omori of Marianas Baptism Academy, Magdiel Corpuz and Mariana Fan of Marianas High School, Ye Lin Lee of Saipan Southern High School, and Ricardo Kaipat of the Northern Marianas Technical Institute.

Each one will receive $2,000 from the Chamber to finance part of their college education.

Chamber president Alex A. Sablan, who presented Wu, said that her application stated that her passion in life is to open a clinic to improve the delivery of mental health care in the Commonwealth.

“She obviously wants to become a doctor. She was confident, articulate, and thoughtful in all of her answers,” Sablan said.

Vicky Izuka of First Hawaiian Bank presented Omori, saying she is very excited about Omori receiving the scholarship.

“As I have seen through the family, friends, and educators, and personal choices made over the years, Omori has grown and developed from a shy, young student to a very confident and charming young adult,” Izuka said.

Izuka noted that Omori has a 4.0 grade point average and a long list of extracurricular activities.

“School metrics are only part of the story but Mock Trial is the best. He is fast in thinking on his feet and often does the team’s rebuttals. Omori’s rebuttal on the 2013 CNMI Regional Championships was so devastating that one of the Supreme Court justices said it was one of the best rebuttals he has ever seen in the CNMI’s history,” Izuka said.

SCC treasurer Jinwoo Cho, who presented Corpuz, said that Corpuz shook hands with each member of the Scholarship Selection Committee and spoke with a “strong, clear voice.”

Corpuz earned a GPA of 4.25 at MHS and has amassed a lot of volunteering hours for the Rotary Interact Club, Marianas March Against Cancer, Youth Advisory Panel, church groups, and other clubs and events.

“Corpuz has already learned in his short years that training and mentoring the younger generation is essential to the success of our island,” Woo said.

Woo noted that Corpuz’s long term goal is to return to Saipan after college, establish an association of young entrepreneurs, and allocate capital for graduates to pursue new businesses with the aid of certification and training classes.

SCC executive director Jill Arenovski, who presented Fan, said it wasn’t Fan’s 4.41 GPA that dazzled them during the interview but her smile.

“Mariana is a hardworking gal and, while other girls were lounging at the beach last summer, she volunteered more than 200 hours at the Public School System central office to analyze data and present causes of and solutions for teen risk,” Arenovski said.

Janice Tenorio, SCC education committee chair, presented Lee, who will be graduating from SSHS. Lee was born in Korea and moved to Saipan when she was just 6 years old.

“Both [of Lee’s] parents strive to work hard to educate and teach both girls to strive and have better grades and participate in community events and school clubs,” Tenorio said.

Tenorio noted that Lee plays the flute for the SSHS Manta Ray Band and will be majoring in Business and Economics at the University of California Los Angeles.

Pacific Islands Club executive assistant Vicky Benavente, who presented Kaipat, said he has worked consistently while attending the nursing program at Northern Marianas College.

“He currently works more than full time at the Commonwealth Healthcare Center laboratories, sometimes without any day off because of the current shortage of staff,” Benavente said.

According to Benavente, Kaipat believes that “education never ends and jobs nowadays have more requirements.”

“It is admirable that a man who graduated high school more than 25 years ago and who has been gainfully employed with the same company for 24 years is still finding ways to further his education and to learn more,” she said.

Sablan said it was an honor to present the awardees with the scholarship grant.