KagHS is honoring three incredible employees with the highest honor bestowed among peers. To each, congratulations and thank you for your dedication and hard work.
Jason Teregeyo-Teacher Aide of the Year. He has been a teacher aide at Kagman High School for four years.
His importance to the team is the unique skills he possesses and uses to aide students with special needs. Jason Teregeyo is blind. He lost his sight in an accident as a young adult, but he never lost his love of learning. He continued his education despite his disability. He began this great journey with an opportunity from the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation to go to the Ho’opono Center for the Blind in Honolulu, Hawaii. While there he enrolled at Kapiolani Community College, where he earned his AA degree. Then he went half-way across the world to Syracuse, New York where he got more training. He came home not long after that and continues to educate himself. His goal is to get his bachelor’s degree.
At Kagman High School, we have had several blind students come through our doors. Having Jason as a teacher and mentor has given these students motivation that they too will someday live an independent life. He teaches them to read and use Braille notes. He reinforces mobility skills and safety tips. Most importantly, he shares experiences he has had in the world beyond Saipan as a blind person. He shares challenges they may face and encourages them not to have doubt, because if he can do it, they can too. In his native tongue, he asserts that, “alongasch emmwelsibwe akkabwung; Everybody can learn.” He is an inspiration to all students on our campus and in our community.
Gina Sambilay-Support Staff of the Year. She has been a valued member of Kagman High School for four years.
Her positive attitude and love of books and students are reflected in the outstanding quality of the library program that she maintains at KagHS.
Her enthusiasm and her genuine concern for the library and the programs are exemplary. Her flexibility in working with students, teachers and the public has earned her a reputation as an excellent team member who truly cares about reading and people.. In addition to her duties as the librarian, she maintains accurate records of the school’s inventory and tracks students who have obligations with very detailed records. She is truly an asset to our school.
She is a full-time student at NMC and is almost done working toward the completion of her bachelor’s degree in education.
Josepha Kaipat-Teacher of the Year. She has been at Kagman High School for four years.
She is an inspiration to every local student that walks into her door. Kaipat has broken many of the bounds of cultural expectations. She is a highly educated, highly motivated and successful woman. Her students see that if she can do it, they can too. Students can relate to her and they know she can relate to them. She makes learning fun and accessible to every person who walks into that classroom.
Kaipat doesn’t just expand their knowledge in academic ways, she encourages growth culturally as well. As the Rafalawash Community Club, or RCC, advisor, Kaipat has trained and taught kids about traditional dances, cultural expectations and customs and much more. The most surprising thing about the RCC is it is not just Rafalawash kids who join; it is inclusive of all cultures who want to learn more about what it means to be Carolinian.
Kaipat is an irreplaceable teacher, outspoken advocate and inspiring mentor for all who cross paths with her.
She is more than an asset to our school. She is the heart. If you come on campus and ask for Kaipat, you will see first a smile and then a sparkle in that person’s eye. Her drive for bettering herself through education has touched many lives at KagHS and inspires students on a daily basis.
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