Kim-Tenorio is keynote speaker of MCS graduation ceremony

Teresa K. Kim-Tenorio

Mount Carmel School announced that the keynote speaker for its 2016 high school commencement exercises will be Supeiror Court Associate Judge Teresa K. Kim-Tenorio. The exercises are set for Saturday, June 11, at 5pm at Mount Carmel Cathedral.

As is done every year, the school’s graduating seniors discussed several candidates before nominating their preferred commencement speaker. This year, the seniors nominated Kim-Tenorio, which the school administration then approved.

Asked about how she feels being selected, Kim-Tenorio said she was honored because, as she put it, “This group of graduates is driven and have accomplished much already.” Hinting at what her message will be, she added, “I hope to inspire them to be productive members of society; to discover who they are and use those talents to give back and make their mark in the world.”

School president Galvin Deleon Guerrero looks forward to Kim-Tenorio’s speech. He said, “Not only are we happy that the seniors selected someone of such high caliber, but we are honored that Kim-Tenorio has agreed to deliver the keynote address.” He added, “Given her impressive experience and deep commitment to our community, we trust that she will impart inspiring words of wisdom for our graduates.”

Kim-Tenorio has long valued education and the law. In 1997, she earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts, University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. In May of 2001, she graduated from New England School of Law with her Juris Doctor degree and is licensed to practice law in the State of Michigan, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, the United States District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands, and the United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit.

Kim-Tenorio has also distinguished herself as a public servant in numerous capacities. She served as legal counsel for the CNMI Lieutenant Governor, the CNMI Legislature, and was also in private practice, a record that paved the way for her role as legal counsel for then governor Eloy S. Inos.

In 2013, she was nominated by Inos and confirmed by the CNMI Senate to serve as an associate judge to the CNMI Superior Court, where she has further distinguished herself in several ways. In 2015, Kim-Tenorio actively participated alongside other justice professionals in the implementation of the first-ever Drug Court program in the CNMI, which will oversee the program as the initial Drug Court judge next month. And, earlier this year, Kim-Tenorio was appointed by United States Courts for the Ninth Circuit Chief Judge Sidney R. Thomas to serve as a designated judge in the District Court in the District of the Northern Mariana Islands.

Kim-Tenorio has also given back to her community ten-fold. She served a board member for the NMI chapter of the American Red Cross for almost nine years, an officer for the Marianas High School’s Parent Teacher Association, and a coordinator on the CNMI High School Mock Trial competition. She has also been a trustee for the NMI Judiciary Historical Society since 2005.

Kim-Tenorio is married to Perry Tenrio and the mother of four kids, Justis, Sunho, Pedro, and Sunjoon.