ON Thursday, Gov. Ralph DLG Torres met with Northern Marianas College Foundation Board Chairman Vicente Babauta, members of the NMC Foundation, NMC Board of Regents Chairman Charles V. Cepeda, members of the NMC Board of Regents, NMC President Dr. Galvin Deleon Guerrero, Associated Students of Northern Marianas College officers, and NMC student organization, faculty, and staff representatives to present a check for $100,000 to the Northern Marianas College Foundation.
At the recent Associated Students of Northern Marianas College Town Hall, upon being asked about the plans for giving immigrants without U.S. citizenship the chance to receive financial aid so they can enroll at NMC and earn a degree, Governor Torres expressed the importance of education, and how every student who calls the Marianas home should be given the equal opportunity to obtain financial aid to attend the local college. He then pledged $100,000 to the Northern Marianas College Foundation which he fulfilled in the meeting Thursday.
“Education has always been one of my top priorities, as our students are the future leaders of our government, our community, and our workforce. When I was asked this question by the ASNMC about what can be done for our students who do not qualify for other scholarship programs and what kind of assistance and opportunities we can provide for these students, I thought about how important it is to give these students the ability and opportunity to grow, now,” the governor said.
“During that forum, I consulted with Secretary of Finance David DLG Atalig about providing funding to the NMC Foundation, because they would then be able to develop criteria to distribute these funds to our students who cannot avail themselves of other types of financial aid or scholarships, who need assistance. I then pledged to give $100,000 to the NMC Foundation, and I am glad that we are here today to provide this funding as a solution.
“I want to emphasize that giving every single one of our students opportunities to grow is vital to our Commonwealth, because an educated community creates a thriving CNMI.”
Gov. Ralph DLG Torres on Thursday donated $100,000 to the Northern Marianas College Foundation to fund scholarships for students. In photo with Torres are NMC President Galvin Deleon Guerrero, EdD, NMC Foundation Chair Ben Babauta, the NMC Regents, the NMC Foundation board members, Associated Students of NMC President Anushi Joshi and officers, as well as NMC faculty and staff.
