Castro, the youngest child of John Jr. and Ellen E. Castro, graduated from Saipan Southern High School in 2005, and earned her associate of arts degree the same year at Northern Marianas College.
Janice Castro is greatly devoted and passionate about the environment and has spent the past three years building her green career.
She has worked with numerous environmental agencies and organizations both here on Saipan and on the mainland U.S., including the Coastal Resources Management Office, the Division of Environmental Quality, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Washington Environmental Council, just to name a few.
In addition, last summer, Castro spent one week in Washington, D.C. training with Greenpeace and Seventh Generation on how to tackle today’s greatest environmental issue, global warming.
During her visit, she visited CNMI Resident Rep. Pete A. Tenorio, and urged him and Congresswoman Madeleine Bordallo to support efforts for alternative energy solutions around the nation.
She presented Tenorio with a red chair, putting him on the “hot seat” to support global warming legislation.
Castro is thinking about traveling abroad to work with top environmental organizations around the world, but would love to return to Saipan and accomplish her dream of turning the Micronesia into a greener, more environmentally friendly region.
Sablan receives prestigious White House award
STANDING proudly with first lady Laura Bush, Spc. Vera Sablan of the CNMI received an award for exemplary performance during the White House Communications Agency’s 19th annual awards ceremony on Monday, a media release stated.
Sablan, one of 23 awardees, was selected from over 900 active duty service members assigned to the agency to be honored for outstanding dedication and exemplary performance for providing superb communications to the president, vice president, and their staff.
Sablan serves with the 3rd Presidential Communications Command of the White House Communications Agency and is the unit’s human resources manager.
In that capacity, she meticulously proofed, generated, reviewed, and screened 485 evaluations, awards, official memoranda, and personnel correspondence for the 75 joint service personnel assigned, maintaining a 98 percent suspense rate.
Sablan, a self-motivated soldier, displayed outstanding use of automation skills by maintaining and updating the unit Web site, providing historical records of unit functions, training issues, leave, and personnel actions.
She is involved in numerous community affairs and volunteer work committed to keeping youths off the streets, enabling them to become more valuable and productive members of our society.
Sablan is the daughter of retired U.S. Army Sgt. Maj. Ramon Sablan and Lucy Sablan of Saipan.
The White House Communications Agency, originally known as the White House Signal Detachment, was officially formed by the War Department in March 1942 during the Roosevelt administration.
The detachment was activated under the military district of Washington to provide normal and emergency communication in support of the president of the United States.
The agency has evolved over the past 66 years from a small team of 32 personnel working out of the basement of the White House to a self-supporting joint service command.
The headquarters for WHCA is located at the Anacostia Navy Yard in Washington, D.C. and consists of seven staff elements and six operational units.
CNMI Resident Rep. Pete A. Tenorio, who was at the ceremony, said: “I am proud to witness this historic event of a soldier from the CNMI receiving an award from the first lady for exemplary performance in the service to our country. Our citizens join me in extending our congratulations and best wishes to Spc. Sablan for her wonderful achievement and for bringing honor and pride to herself, her family and to our commonwealth.”
