JSA, NMC host Civics Institute Micronesia for 2nd year in a row

Ten high school students from the Federated States of Micronesia and the Republic of the Marshall Islands spent the last week on Saipan taking college-level courses in media and democracy at Northern Marianas College as part of the Junior State of America’s Civics Institute Micronesia.

For the second year in a row, NMC was selected by JSA to be the host institution for its newest summer program, Civics Institute Micronesia, a weeklong residential program on Saipan designed to engage high school students with the most pressing issues facing the Pacific today and to challenge them to look beyond differences and focus on action-oriented solutions. Participants gain a complete understanding of critical issues directly from the decision-makers who shape public policy and apply lessons learned to generate ideas for direct action in their communities.

In partnership with NMC, the program’s core course is Media and Democracy, which is taught by journalist and NMC adjunct instructor Thomas Mangloña II, who is an alumnus of the University of California at Berkeley, where he obtained a B.A. in Media Studies as a Gates Millenium Scholar, and graduated with an M.A. in Journalism from Stanford University, where he was a Harry S. Truman Scholar. He is currently the chief regional correspondent for KUAM News on Saipan.

Participants of the Junior State of America’s Civics Institute Micronesia pose for a photo with CNMI Gov. Arnold I. Palacios during a courtesy call at the Office of the Governor. Ten high school students from the Federated States of Micronesia and the Republic of the Marshall Islands are taking college-level courses in media and democracy at Northern Marianas College for about a week as part of the program. (OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR)

“These students have critically engaged with issues to our democracy,” Mangloña said. “They’ve selected topics such as domestic violence, government corruption, and discrimination to focus on this week and have not shied away from asking hard questions or having hard conversations. People often say the youth are our next generation of leaders, but JSA proves that they have arrived and are already leading.”

The program’s featured speakers include CNMI Gov. Arnold I. Palacios, the Northern Marianas Commonwealth Legislature, the CNMI Supreme Court, the CNMI Superior Court, and the U.S. District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands.

This year, the 10 students selected to attend Civics Institute Micronesia are:

• CC Tessie Mori (FSM, Xavier High School)
• Jeremiah Suliol (FSM, Xavier High School)
• John Vincent Retalmai (FSM, Xavier High School)
• Karen Semens (FSM, Our Lady of Mercy Catholic High School)
• Karishma Paul (FSM, Our Lady of Mercy Catholic High School)
• Kayla Yamada Irons (FSM, Pohnpei Seventh-Day Adventist School)
• Nia Wase (Marshall Islands, Majuro Cooperative School)
• Ryu Nakasone (FSM, Xavier High School)
• Yu Nakasone (FSM, Xavier High School)
• Yuji Silbanuz (FSM, Pohnpei Seventh-Day Adventist School) (PR)