289 students received degrees from Northern Marianas College at the commencement exercise on Friday, May 23 at the Koblerville gymnasium.
The graduates received Associate of Arts and Bachelor of Science degrees in fields such as nursing, education, natural resources management, fire science technology, business administration, and more.
This year’s commencement theme was “The Flame of Culture, the Power of Knowledge.”
Anufat Terlaje Pangelinan and Esther Hansol Huh each received an Excellence in Service Award, while Jude Litulumar and Ronica Miranda each received an Excellence in Leadership Award. Academic Excellence awards went to Frann Billy, Reef Cabrera, Adbiel Carandang, Aisha Lansangan, Xinyi Ni, Katriel Saures, Raiki Tababa and Bonnie Sagana, who was the top graduate of the class.
In his student address, Sagana said that their degrees were like a “passport for our upcoming journey” through life.
“Some of us will stay in the Marianas, building and strengthening our communities, others will travel abroad discovering new opportunities and making a difference in places we’ve never imagined,” Sagana said. “No matter where our journey takes us, we carry the same truth: we are not meant to be confined; we are meant to explore.”
Sagana said life after NMC will not always be “smooth sailing” for the newly graduated proas, referring to the college’s mascot.
But he said that “beyond the high tides of constant worry and occasional failures,” their education from NMC is like a “bridge” between their “dreams and reality.”
“Today is not the end of our journey, it is simply a moment where we pause to celebrate how far we have come before setting sail once more,” he said.
For his part, NMC President Galvin Deleon Guerrero used Star Wars, his favorite movie, as the central metaphor of his commencement address.
He said the college was a “beacon of hope amidst all the darkness” of local and national issues, including a growing economic crisis in the CNMI, and an “all-out assault on education” at the national level.
“The brightest beacons, the leaders of our rebel alliance, sit right before us in these graduates, who have rebelled against some of the darkest challenges to emerge as luminaries of hope and resilience,” Deleon Guerrero said. “You are all forces of light rebelling against the empire of dark forces that surround us”
This year’s commencement speaker was U.S. Congresswoman Kimberlyn King-Hinds, who praised the graduates for having “ambition with a purpose.”
“At some point you made a decision to do more for yourself. Some of you looked at your kids and said, ‘I need to do more for them.’ Some of you looked around at this community and said, ‘I want the skills to give back to do more for all of us.” And that, my dear friends, is ambition in its best form. What sets you apart is that your ambition wasn’t about ego, it wasn’t about the applause, it was driven by purpose.”
King-Hinds said people can have ambition without purpose, which can cause people to chase status or step on others to get to higher titles or different offices.
But “ambition with purpose” is a good thing, King-Hinds told the graduates.
“When someone from the CNMI dares to be ambitious, it makes people uncomfortable. If you’re a woman who speaks up, they call you combative. If you’re from the islands and you dream big, they say you’re unrealistic. If you push for more, they say you’re asking for too much… [and] you [need] to read the room. But what they’re really saying is to stay in your place — and to that I say hell no.”
A lawyer, the CNMI’s first female delegate to Congress, and a former NMC board chair, King-Hinds told the graduates they would face moments where they must choose whether to “stay silent or speak up” during difficult “fights.”
“Some fights are worth it — the fights that lift people up, the fights that protect what matters, the fights that challenge the idea that power only lives on Capitol Hill, D.C. or New York or some far away place. You are stepping into the world that doesn’t always see you coming, so don’t wait for permission.”
She urged the graduates to “bring honor to your job — don’t expect the job to bring honor to you.”
“Work — real work — is identified by how you do it, not what it’s called; by the effort, the integrity, and the pride you bring to it. That’s what defines who you are in this community, not rank, not agency, and definitely not status. Being a congresswoman gives me no honor by itself. I have to earn it. I have to bring honor to this role, every day through…work. Whatever you do, do it well. Don’t chase the title expecting it to make you proud. Do the work that you care for. Let your purpose guide you, and let your actions bring the honor your title deserves. Let your ambition lead but let it be grounded in who you are, where you come from, and what you stand for, because the world just doesn’t need more graduates. It needs more truth tellers like you, more problem solvers like you, more doers who know why they do what they do, like you.”
Building the CNMI’s workforce. On Friday, May 23, 2025 Northern Marianas College conferred degrees to one of the largest graduating classes in the institution’s history. More than 250 degrees were awarded to graduates receiving associate’s or bachelor’s degrees in business, nursing, liberal arts, education, criminal justice, hospitality management, and natural resources management.
NMC photo
Anufat Terlaje Pangelinan received an Excellence in Service Award.
Bonnie Sagana is one of the top graduates of the class.
A student’s decorated cap at the graduation ceremony.
Esther Hansol Huh received an Excellence in Service Award.
NMC President Galvin Deleon Guerrero delivers his commencement address.
289 students received degrees from Northern Marianas College on Friday, May 23 at the Koblerville gymnasium.
The graduates received Associate of Arts and Bachelor of Science degrees in fields such as nursing, education, natural resources management, fire science technology, business administration, and more.
This year’s commencement theme was “The Flame of Culture, the Power of Knowledge.”
Jude Litulumar received an Excellence in Leadership Award.
This year’s commencement speaker was Delegate Kimberlyn King-Hinds, who praised the graduates for having “ambition with a purpose.”
Ronica Miranda received an Excellence in Leadership Award.
