“We had an extremely successful Start Smart seminar for the seniors of the public high schools on Saipan earlier this week, and we want to now bring that energy and momentum to our seniors on Rota and Tinian,” NMC interim President Lorraine T. Cabrera said.
The Start Smart event for Tinian was tentatively scheduled for Wednesday, March 17.
The event on Rota will be held at about the same time, although a specific date has not been identified yet.
Cabrera said the NMC staff members on Tinian and Rota are working with public high school representatives to ensure that the event will benefit students.
“NMC’s recruitment team plans on a day full of activity and information-sharing specifically geared for Tinian and Rota students and the unique challenges they face,” she said.
According to Cabrera, NMC is grateful for programs like the College Access Challenge Project that make these activities possible.
Early this week, the Start Smart seminar was attended by the seniors of Marianas High School, Saipan Southern High School, and Kagman High School at the Saipan World Resort.
“What was especially helpful during the seminar was that many current college students shared their experiences about the successes and challenges they have had to face,” Cabrera said.
There was a presentation on how students can find the funds to finance their college education.
There was also a question and answer session where students could ask counselors about their experiences in college.
The Start Smart seminar was a collaboration between Northern Marianas College and the Public School System, and it was sponsored by the College Access Challenge Project, which is designed to increase the number of underrepresented students in postsecondary education.
“The Start Smart Seminar was a great reminder for our students that they have great opportunities at NMC,” Cherlyn Cabrera, counselor at Marianas High School, said.
“Many seniors saw that quite a number of successful leaders graduated from NMC and are now excited about going to school there,” she added.
Although the evaluation surveys have not yet been compiled and tallied, interim President Cabrera believes that the students greatly benefitted from the speakers, presentations, and the activities that engaged the students.
Some of the speakers at the event included Ben Babauta, a former NMC student who was recently named businessperson of the year.
Other speakers were attorney Joe Camacho, talk show host John Gonzales, attorney Viola Alepuyo, and educator Livia Pangelinan.
