I MUST say that I was quite disturbed when I read the two letters to your newspaper written about the Junior Statesman Program last June 14 and last June 18 by two students who were accepted to the program, but declined to go. However, I am even more disturbed when I read that their parents did not do anything to encourage their children to attend, financial troubles and all.
For three years, I busted my butt trying to help my daughter pay for the travel and living expenses while at JSA. Thankfully the CNMI government, with the JSA Scholarship Fund that is set aside every year for the JSA students, helped pay for all three years of her tuition. That left me to help my daughter fund-raise for the airline ticket and extra living expenses, which are both pretty expensive. I admit—it was difficult at first, but thankfully we live in a community where people are so willing to give to a good cause such as JSA, and we managed to fund-raise enough. That is why I am shocked that some students would decline the opportunity of a lifetime because of financial problems. My family and I have pulled together three times and accomplished our financial goal to send my daughter off to school, and in the end it was well worth it.
Being a local and growing up poor during the T.T. time, I was never given the chance to go farther than Hawaii for college. Imagine sending my daughter to three of the finest universities in the United States, not to play pretend that she’s a college student, but to be a real college student, before she even graduates from high school. She got to experience college life so she could prepare for the real world after high school. Being from the CNMI, and being so far away from the U.S., the students here don’t get as many opportunities to improve themselves as the students in the mainland, so when an opportunity like this comes up, many JSA parents will agree that their kids should go for it.
Parents must give their children all the opportunities they can, even though it may take some work to achieve that goal financially, as parents it is our duty and responsibility. Even though, as one student’s letter stated, that she would rather stay home and learn about the CNMI and the U.S. governments from her parents, I would reply that success can’t be found on this island anymore, and the best way to broaden one’s horizons is to get off this tiny rock and see the world for themselves. Even though my daughter has never spent any summer in high school here on Saipan with the family (she’s gone to the states every single summer for JSA), I learned that she’s well off in the hands of experienced college professors who will fill her brain with credible knowledge that will impress the colleges she applies to. To the students who wrote those letters to the editor: Why would you even apply when it states clearly on the application brochure that it costs money to attend the program? I feel terrible for the JSA admissions office for wasting precious time.
Thank you CNMI government for providing a scholarship program for these JSA students. That is money invested the right way. For the private sector-–you know how important it is to give students “the best tools in the toolbox.” JSA is such a tool.ANTONIO T. TORRES
Capitol Hill, Saipan
