Six NMC students awarded over 4K in scholarships

First Hawaiian Bank and Guam Business Magazine present scholarships to six Northern Marianas College students in order to promote higher education and professional careers in business. (Daisy Demapan)

First Hawaiian Bank and Guam Business Magazine scholarships totaling $4,810 were presented yesterday to six business students at the Northern Marianas College Board of Regents conference room.

Magazine publisher Maureen Maratita and FHB region manager Laura Dacanay shared that they formed the Businesswoman of the Year program 10 years ago to recognize women in business who have made extraordinary accomplishments in their careers and who have also given back to their communities.

“For the first two years of the program, the sole beneficiary was the University of Guam and then we realized that both companies do business in Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands. We wanted to broaden what we were doing so the program now also provides scholarships for NMC and Guam Community College. We were very fortunate to see that the support we received to share as scholarships was growing,” Maratita said.

“We typically get a lot of applications from NMC and we are very pleased. It’s an honor to be part of higher education to help students fulfill their career dreams… Nominees and their companies help support the program and the net proceeds is what we turn over into scholarships,” Dacanay added.

Although the program is called Businesswoman of the Year, Dacanay states, “We do not discriminate. We have male [scholarship] recipients in Guam and Saipan. The recognition program to raise the funds is a businesswoman program but when we give out scholarships it does not matter so long as [recipients] pursue a business-like career to help fulfill the needs of the community.”

The scholarships are awarded based on grade point average, financial need, community service and extra-curricular activities, as well as an interview and essay process.

“Our companies are both headed by women and it’s an extra challenge being a woman in business… but there are no glass ceilings anymore,” Dacanay said.

The recipients received scholarships covering 50 percent of their credit hours plus a $200 stipend after signing a scholarship agreement.

Roy Alegre, a second-time awardee, received $770; Denicia Avendano received $770; Jasmine Che, also a second-time awardee, received $960; Riya Nathrani got $1,750; Debby Siu, $485; and Aireen Valencia, $785.

Following this year’s presentations, the program will have awarded a total of $207,377 in scholarships to 111 deserving students in Guam and the CNMI since 2006. Funds for the scholarships were raised through the annual Businesswoman of the Year Gala.