JSA, NMC host Civics Institute Micronesia for the second year in a row

(NMC) — Ten high school students from the Federated States of Micronesia and the Republic of the Marshall Islands spent the last week on Saipan taking college-level courses in media and democracy at Northern Marianas College as part of the Junior State of America’s Civics Institute Micronesia.

Founded in 1934, JSA is the nation’s oldest non-partisan non-profit organization dedicated to helping high school students acquire leadership skills and the knowledge necessary to be effective debaters and civic participants. For decades, the organization has held summer programs in major universities such as Stanford University, Pepperdine University, Georgetown University, Princeton University, Northwestern University, and American University.

For the second year in a row, NMC was selected by JSA to be the host institution for its newest summer program, Civics Institute Micronesia, a week-long residential program on Saipan designed to engage high school students with the most pressing issues facing the Pacific today and to challenge them to look beyond differences and focus on action-oriented solutions. Participants gain a complete understanding of critical issues directly from the decision-makers who shape public policy and apply lessons learned to generate ideas for direct action in their communities.

In partnership with NMC, the program’s core course is Media and Democracy, which is taught by journalist and NMC Adjunct Instructor Thomas Manglona II. Manglona is an alumnus of the University of California at Berkeley, where he obtained a B.A. in Media Studies as a Gates Millenium Scholar, and graduated with an M.A. in Journalism from Stanford University, where he was a Harry S. Truman Scholar. He is currently the Chief Regional Correspondent for KUAM News based in Saipan. He also attended the JSA Stanford Summer School in 2014 and was a Resident Advisor for the same program in 2017 and 2018.

“These students have critically engaged with issues to our democracy,” Manglona said. “They’ve selected topics such as domestic violence, government corruption, and discrimination to focus on this week and have not shied away from asking hard questions or having hard conversations. People often say the youth are our next generation of leaders, but JSA proves that they have arrived and are already leading.”

The program’s featured speakers included CNMI Gov. Arnold I. Palacios, the Northern Marianas Commonwealth Legislature, the CNMI Supreme Court, the CNMI Superior Court, and the District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands.

“For nearly 32 years, the Junior State of America has been entrusted by the Department of the Interior to provide civics education and leadership training to students from the U.S. Territories and Freely Associated States,” JSA Chief Program Officer Andee Steinman said. “Knowing that travel has been, and will continue to be challenging in the post-Covid era, we were inspired to bring our programming to the CNMI. In partnership with NMC, we are thrilled to reach so many students who we have missed so much over the last few years. Accessibility and participation for our students across the globe remains high on JSA’s list of priorities.”

“JSA has long been a prestigious and recognizable brand within Micronesia and an effective vehicle to prepare high school students for college while deepening their civic awareness and engagement,” NMC President Dr. Galvin Deleon Guerrero said. “NMC is honored to partner with JSA once again to co-sponsor this incredible summer experience for our region. It has been truly inspiring to work with these bright and passionate young minds from across the Pacific in tackling the important issues of our day with academic rigor, vigorous debate, and refreshing authenticity.”

This year, the 10 students selected to attend Civics Institute Micronesia are:

• CC Tessie Mori