A group of parents, local and federal officials gathered yesterday to draw plans for a fund-raising campaign to finance the trip of 22 local students who were admitted to the month-long sessions of the Junior Statesmen Summer School.
Of the 22, only three will be given scholarships by the Interior Department, according to Karen Prosser, head of the California-based Junior Statesmen Foundation.
The three are Oscar Ada, a sophomore at Kagman High School; Julia Lizama, a sophomore at Mount Carmel High School; and Sherlynn Taisacan, a junior at Rota High School.
Interior will pay for their tuition costs and round-trip transportation.
The three were chosen based on their outstanding academic performance and excellent writing skills.
The 19 students who were also admitted to the program will have to spend for their own transportation and other expenses.
Toyota and Microl have already pledged financial assistance for the 19 students, Prosser said.
The Junior Statesmen Summer School program allows students to spend time in some of the nation’s best schools—Georgetown University, Princeton University, Yale University, Stanford University and Northwestern University.
In recent years, summer school students have met and questioned former Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton, State Secretary Colin Powell and his predecessor, Madeleine Albright, as well as media personalities such as Sam Donaldson of ABC, Charles Bierbauer and Robert Novak of CNN.
It’s been 11 years since the program was introduced in the CNMI. So far, over 200 local students have already participated.
For more information, contact Jeff Schorr at 234-8861 or Karen Prosser at
(800) 334-5353
