By Andrew Roberto
andrew@mvariety.com
Variety News Staff
NORTHERN Marianas College on Friday launched the Proa Union student center, its $30 million “flagship” building, with an official ribbon cutting ceremony that gathered NMC students, alumni, community members, and dozens of local officials.
The inauguration of the building coincides with the seventh anniversary of Super Typhoon Yutu, when it made landfall in the CNMI on Oct. 24, 2018 and decimated the NMC campus.
The new, federally funded, nearly 50,000-square-meter building is three stories tall and will house financial aid, the library, a bookstore, the Tech Lounge, and a dining hall, among other programs and facilities that serve students. NMC also hopes to use Proa Union to host community events in its first-floor atrium or third-floor mezzanine. The nearby quad in front of Proa Union features audio and electronic infrastructure suitable for Charter Day or other large community gatherings.
At the start of the ribbon cutting, NMC played a short documentary showing how the college was leveled by Super Typhoon Yutu. In his address, NMC President Dr. Galvin Deleon Guerrero said that in rebuilding NMC, the Proa Union was like “Timek, Tumur, Polaris” — the North Star in Chamorro, Carolinian, and Latin — which was “burning brightly” toward a hopeful future.
“For thousands of years, the North Star has shined bright in the sky, pointing the way for seafarers across time and space. Tonight, the Northern Marianas College Proa Union will also shine bright as a beacon of hope, showing us all the way forward through these dark times,” he said. “It took seven long years to bring the light of this building to life — seven years since Super Typhoon Yutu, seven years of planning, pleading, and building, seven years of anticipation, dogged determination, and plain old hard work.”
He said the “fire” that kept organizers moving forward to build Proa Union came from the day NMC was chartered and from the desire to rebuild the campus for its students and the entire community.
“The light of this Proa Union emanates from a fire kindled long ago, one that reaches across generations full of hope for a brighter future. It is a fire that burns in every heart of every Proa — a fire fueled by the leaders, donors, federal partners, community supporters, and alumni who have made this all possible; a fire kept alive by students and employees who stuck with us no matter what came our way. In our darkest hour — indeed — you kept the flame of hope burning. You kept the proa afloat. That is why tonight we are all proas sailing full steam ahead, fired up by what we can achieve when we work together, when we dream together, when we sail together. As the sun sets, know this: tonight we’re all Timek, we’re all Tumur, we’re all Polaris — the North Star shining proudly against all the darkness, lighting the way ahead. So together let us press on, let us sail on, let us shine on.”
For his part, Jesse Tudela, chairman of the NMC Board of Regents, said the Proa Union is only the “first of many more to come” at the new NMC.
Variety files state that future projects at NMC include the construction of the Center for Research and Extension Development, the Workforce Development and Training Center, and classroom buildings for the humanities and sciences.
“We have only just begun, and tonight is an important step toward giving you — our stakeholders — the facilities you deserve,” Tudela said. “Please trust that, as policymakers and leaders at the college, the Board of Regents remains steadfast in its commitment to Northern Marianas College, our students, and our Commonwealth. We will continue to lead, to advocate, and to work for you, ensuring that all lives are improved by higher education — one student at a time, one life at a time, one building at a time.”
The evening’s emcee, Center for Training and Innovation Director Monique Sablan, said the opening of Proa Union also marks the start of the college’s 45th anniversary celebration.
“In the months ahead, we invite our entire community to stay tuned and take part in a series of special events as we celebrate 45 years of excellence, innovation, learning, and unity,” she said.
The community was invited to tour the building at the conclusion of the ceremony.
Andrew Roberto is an alumnus of Saipan Southern High School, Northern Marianas College, and the University of Guam. He holds a degree in English. He is a published author, a staged playwright, and a former classroom teacher.
