Alpino: I will not stop until truth prevails

University of Philadelphia freshman Katelyn Alpino said she has no plans to give up until she ferrets out the truth about her denied application for financial assistance with the CNMI Scholarship Office.

“It was really surprising to find out about this. They said I was denied because of my low GPA [grade point average] and I was the class valedictorian. I don’t understand this at all. It affects my plans in a big way because this scholarship plays a big role with how I am supposed to fund my college education. I personally feel as if I was deprived of this and I hope that there is an investigation about this because it’s unfair,” Alpino said in an email to the Saipan Tribune. “My parents and I will not stop until the truth about what happened comes out.”

The Public School System is currently investigating Alpino’s case after Rota High School recently concluded its own probe. The 2011 Rota High School valedictorian was not approved for scholarship assistance by the CNMI government due to her supposedly low GPA. Both the salutatorian and third honor of Alpino’s batch were approved financial assistance by the CNMI Scholarship Office.

Alpino said she’s hopeful and praying that the issue will be resolved soon.

“For now, I have a private student loan on standby which I hopefully don’t have to make because I know for sure that I deserve that scholarship. I turned in all my required documents on time and I believe that I had a significantly high SAT score and on top of everything, was the class valedictorian,” she said.

Alpino said the denial has affected her and her studies. She is currently taking up a pre-medicine course.

“It worries me because my tuition was due on July 31st and I was not able to pay for it. My school gave me a grace period to figure out how I’m supposed to pay for the rest of my tuition and they’ve been very understanding about my situation. I’m not too sure about how much loans I have because I’m still waiting on some but I know I owe my school almost $11,500 for this school year, which was supposed to be paid with my scholarship,” she said.

According to her father, Arthur Alpino, PSS has yet to provide them the result of its investigation that was supposed to be completed on Sept. 12.

On Friday, Arthur Alpino filed with the Board of Education a complaint seeking its intervention after waiting for three weeks for PSS action.

“We need your help and I think our letter of grievance to PSS commissioner, Dr. Rita A. Sablan, has not been taken cared of the way it should be,” Arthur Alpino told board chair Marylou Ada in his letter Friday.

Arthur Alpino stated that their problem arose upon learning that his daughter’s application with the CNMI Scholarship Office had been denied.

“We sent a letter of appeal to the CNMI Scholarship Board about this matter and based on their investigation, my daughter’s reported cumulative GPA was lower than the salutatorian and third honor students, who both qualified for the scholarship grant. How can this happen? This is insane. My daughter graduated valedictorian, and how come she had the lowest GPA? Is there any manipulation/misconduct/error on this by the Rota High School personnel headed by principal Sharlene Manglona?” Mr. Alpino wrote in his letter to Ada.