MY WAVE teachers vow to be more active

Schoolteachers belonging to the MY WAVE tourism club have elected a new set of officers and vowed to be more active in the coming months, even as three more public schools joined the group.

Reelected president for his second term during a MY WAVE advisers meeting late last week was Pete Mesngon of Kagman High School.

Alvin Sablan of Marianas High School was elected vice president; Jackie Chong of Oleai Elementary School, treasurer; and Jen Villagomez of Gregorio T. Camacho Elementary School, secretary.

The three additions to the MY WAVE tourism clubs are Kagman High School, Tanapag Elementary School, and San Antonio Elementary School.

This brings to 17 the total number of public schools that have MY WAVE tourism clubs. The Public School System has 12 elementary schools, and seven junior high and senior high schools.

The teachers, during their meeting held at the offices of the Board of Education on Capitol Hill, agreed to have better coordination, noting that there had been MY WAVE advisers who failed to keep up with the pace of the school-based tourism club’s activities in the past.

“We will now be a very active group,” Mesngon told his fellow club advisors. “And I am not going to be the only officer attending meetings in the future.”

Following Chong’s proposal, the advisers agreed to send the school principal a letter—a copy of which would also be given to Education Commissioner Rita Inos—if that school’s MY WAVE adviser fails to attend meetings thrice.

“We should be committed,” said Villagomez, noting that Mesngon was left entirely on his own to run the club as other officers failed then and again to attend the meetings.

For the following months, the advisers would be working with the board of the Marianas Tourism Education Council to hold lobby greetings for tourists at hotels and the Saipan International Airport.

The MY WAVErs were also busy preparing for this year’s annual ship visit by a large group of students from Hokkaido in Japan. A number of Christmas caroling activities have also been slated at various hotels and establishments including DFS-Galleria.

The MY WAVE Clubs were formed in 2002 by MTEC and PSS to foster community understanding and support for the visitor industry, and educate the people on the values of tourism to the CNMI. This is hoped to boost efforts in revitalizing the tourism industry.