Marianas Eye Institute offers scholarships to attend high school in Europe

Marianas Eye Institute announced yesterday that it has set aside funds to support high school and junior high students from Saipan, Tinian, and Rota, who may wish to live and learn at Townshend International School in the heart of Europe.

Townshend International School is a co-educational non-profit school that for the past 22 years has welcomed students from 98 countries and territories. In addition to providing outstanding academics, the school places emphasis on character development, spiritual development, and in preparing young people to be of service to others and to contribute to social progress. The school serves children from pre-K through high school.

Nava Khorram, from Saipan, far left, with classmates from Switzerland, Norway, Russia, and Uzbekistan at Townshend International School. Marianas Eye Institute is offering scholarships for junior high and high school students to attend Townshend. (Contributed Photo)

Dr. David Khorram, co-founder of Marianas Eye Institute, explained the reason behind the scholarships. “When our daughter, Nava, who was born and grew up on Saipan, turned 15, she wanted to spread her wings a bit.  She was looking online and found Townshend International School in Europe,” he said. “Of course, we were hesitant to let her go, but as we talked with the school director, with staff, and with students, we were convinced that she would be well-taken cared of at Townshend.”

Since the time Nava started at Townshend in August, she has been thriving, and this is the reason Marianas Eye Institute decided to offer scholarships, Khorram said.. “We wanted other students from the CNMI to have the opportunity for this same wonderful educational experience.”

Townshend International School uses the Cambridge curriculum, which along with the Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate curricula, are the most common college preparatory curricula worldwide. Townshend students routinely enter the best universities in the United States, Europe, Asia, and Australia. At the same time, the school has a strong English as a Second Language program, helping students who are learning English to strengthen their language skills for university.

Russ Quinn, CEO of Marianas Eye Institute, said, “There are excellent schools on Saipan, and we’re lucky that both the public and private schools offer great education for the kids in the CNMI.  This is a different kind of opportunity—the chance to have a broader experience, to make international friendships, to live and study in Europe, while getting an outstanding academic education.  We’re excited to offer these scholarships for students from the CNMI.”

Townshend is located in a peaceful village overlooking the countryside of South Bohemia, in the Czech Republic, near the borders of Austria and Germany.  The surrounding area is dotted with historic castles, lakes, rivers, and beautiful villages that are centuries-old.

“Although I miss Saipan, there are so many things I love about Townshend,” said Nava. “First is the people. I’ve made such amazing friends living in the dormitory.  And it’s international—friends from Norway, Germany, Italy, Indonesia, Luxembourg, England, Japan, and Korea…teachers from Spain, Uzbekistan, Australia, and Scotland. It’s amazing.”

Nava described that the school works hard to build unity among all the students by giving them the opportunity to get to know people they normally would not interact with. “There aren’t cliques or exclusive relationships here. You know everyone and everyone is friendly,” she said.

Khorram said it was not an easy decision to let their daughter leave home at such a young age. “We thought about it carefully, and our biggest concern was her well-being.  But after learning about the dorm parents, the youth-year of service, the warm and loving environment at Townshend, the emphasis on character development, and spiritual growth, along with its focus on service and social progress, we felt it would be a gift for anyone to attend Townshend. We hope that a few junior high or high school students from the CNMI will seize the opportunity to start at Townshend in August.”

More information about Townshend International School is available at www.Townshend.cz. The first step is to apply and be accepted to the school, and CNMI students should request an application from admissions@townshend.cz. Please mention that you are from the CNMI.

Marianas Eye Institute, which is funding the scholarships, provides total eye care, including one-hour glasses, contact lenses, medical eye care, advanced cataract surgery, diabetic eye care, and laser treatment. Marianas Eye Institute has been recognized by Retinal Physician Magazine as “one of the best-equipped eye clinics in the Asia Pacific region.” Marianas Eye Institute is located on Beach Road Garapan, Across 13 Fisherman Monument. (MEI)