SAMANTHA Liske-Clark will receive $1,000 for winning the first ever Retta Sue Hamilton Scholarship Essay Contest.
Hamilton (1973-2021) was a lifelong advocate of animals and the environment.
In celebration of her life and life’s work, Our Common Wealth 670 offered this educational scholarship to graduating CNMI high school seniors and students at an accredited university or college who graduated from a Northern Marianas high school.
“Reading your essay reaffirms our mission and goal for a better Marianas,” the OCW670 board wrote to Liske-Clark in a recent congratulatory email. “It also reminds us of the amazing hope and potential you and other young leaders hold — which made picking one scholarship recipient all the more difficult,”
The board is composed of chair Isa Arriola, vice chair Sophia Perez, secretary Rep. Sheila Babauta, treasurer Kathy Yuknavage, and members Nanette Hurst and Zeno Deleon Guerrero, Jr.
“Do take a moment to smile and pat yourself on the back on a job well done! We were all impressed by your direct yet gripping writing style that gave us a clear vision of your goals that align with our mission,” the board added.
Liske-Clarke, for her part, told the board that she is truly honored to have her essay chosen.
“I really appreciate this opportunity,” she said.
In her winning essay, she wrote:
“I remember once I chose a college, I had the same conversation with my friends, over and over:
“‘You’re going where?’
“‘NYUAD.’
“ ‘…’
“‘New York University Abu Dhabi.’
“‘…?’
“‘They have this really great biology program, plus it’ll give me a chance to learn from an international perspective. See the world, you know?’
“‘… Well good luck I guess.’
“I know I made a somewhat unorthodox decision when I chose to leave home and go halfway across the world. Even though I miss my island terribly, I intend to push my boundaries and study the environment from a global perspective. I want to be a conservation biologist and protect the Marianas’ crucial natural resources from destruction. It’s important to me that I learn to see the big picture because conservation is the big picture. It goes beyond any single country or individual. I believe that we, as human beings, have a responsibility to our planet and I want to be able to protect it. Petty partisan squabbles seem outright ridiculous when compared to the extinction of indigenous species. Every living being on this planet is part of a delicate lattice of interconnections forming our biosphere. What happens all the way on the U.S. mainland can have substantial effects on our islands. So I thought, why not go abroad and get an outside perspective?
“You might think I sound naive or melodramatic, going on about ‘saving the planet.’ Make no mistake, I know protecting our islands will not be easy. I don’t have to imagine the amount of work it’s going to take. I’ve lived it. I’ve seen our vibrant coral reefs, those unique rainbow homes for local fish species, those stoic protectors of our shores during storms, reduced to bleached and crumbling skeletons seemingly overnight. I’ve seen our ‘Save Pagan’ stickers plastered across the island as we fought to the last breath to protect habitat and heritage alike in the northern islands. Twenty years ago, Tanapag, my own village, had been suffering the effects of PCB chemicals from the transformer canisters the military had left behind. My Home was toxic. I know exactly how difficult conservation work is, that’s exactly why I want to do this. It’s not starry-eyed optimism, it is grim determination.
“Here, I’m studying to protect our oceans from rising temperatures, acidification, and yes, humans. I believe that the work we do to safeguard our islands and conserve the natural environment matters, not just for ourselves but for our descendants. I love my island, I miss it every day, but I know that everything I learn here is going to help me protect my home. Our descendants deserve the beauty and the bounty of i tano’ yan i tasi.”
To be eligible for this scholarship, a student should be pursuing degree(s) in environmental or public health, public policy and governance, diplomacy or other degrees that are in line with OCW 670’s goal to “protect our ancestral lands, seas and skies from irreparable damage caused by military practices and other developments that pose a threat to our health, physical environment and livelihoods.”
Samantha Liske-Clark
