From left, Saipan Chamber of Commerce Executive Director, Kimberly Camacho, Commissioner of Education Dr. Lawrence Camacho, SCC Board President Joe Guerrero, Co-Op student Miracle Aldan, Board Director Kevin McCale and Vice President Dr. Joshua Wise.
(SCC) — The Saipan Chamber of Commerce recently hosted a productive meet and greet session with Dr. Lawrence Camacho, the Public School System’s commissioner of education.
The meeting, held in SCC’s conference room on Feb. 28, 2024, facilitated open and insightful discussions on collaboration opportunities between SCC and PSS to enhance educational programs for the youth of the Marianas.
SCC representatives engaged in a meaningful dialogue with Commissioner Camacho regarding existing programs of PSS that SCC supports, as well as avenues to further improve and expand these initiatives. Dr. Camacho shared his personal journey and passion for education, emphasizing his commitment to serving the community of his home island.
In a statement, Commissioner Camacho expressed optimism about the partnership between PSS and SCC, stating, “We are setting the stage for some great opportunities and designed outcomes, coming out of this partnership we’re establishing between PSS and SCC. Today’s generation of students are excited to learn theories in the classroom and from textbooks; however, they are even more excited to gain experiential learning opportunities in the workplace environment. Therefore, we will partner and expand our efforts when it comes to cooperative education, internships, and scholarship opportunities through this partnership…and as a result, I am grateful of the fact that the SCC is committed to working with PSS on future strategic initiatives that address the excitement.”
SCC Board President Joe Guerrero states, “On behalf of the board of directors and its members, we are excited about working with the new commissioner of education and his team of dedicated education professionals. SCC has been working with PSS for decades and today’s meeting was a renewed commitment and we share Commissioner Camacho’s vision of partnering on different programs to provide experiential learning opportunities for our youth. As business people we like to measure and track performance and Commissioner Camacho’s approach to building programs that measure our students’ growth brings much value to the students as well as the business community. At the end of the day this partnership is for our community and we’re hopeful that students will have more opportunities than they’ve ever had and really seeing first hand what options are available for them.”
SCC has also been collaborating with the Tinian Chamber of Commerce and the Rota Chamber of Commerce, and intends to find ways to include them in these programs so that our youth in the neighboring islands may have just as many opportunities as our youth on Saipan.
SCC Executive Director Kimberly Camacho said she has been working with PSS Career and Technical Education Program Director Dr. Jessica Taylor. They launched “The Career Exploration Summer Internship Program” last summer and they intend to continue the program this coming summer. “I have been working with Dr. Taylor and she has provided SCC with great guidance throughout the initial program,” Camacho said. “We’re meeting soon to begin discussions for this year’s summer program and while I understand last year’s program was a success, there is always more room for improvement and we look forward to growing what we already have going for our youth and take it to the next level.”
SCC reaffirms its dedication to collaborating with the Public School System to bridge the gap between education and the workforce while nurturing the future leaders of the Marianas. The chamber looks forward to further strengthening this partnership for the betterment of our community.
