Tinian scholars back to work on islands
TINIAN – Four Tinian residents give credit to the Tinian Municipal Scholarship for providing financial help by supplementing the costs of tuition and books.
The recent graduates are Kimberlyn K. King, B.A. from Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, CA, currently working on Tinian as a representative of the Lt. Governor’s Office; Zania Mendiola Fleming, B.A. from University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, MN, a sales associate at DFS on Saipan.
The third graduate is Antonette R. Villagomez, J.D. from William S. Richardson School of Law, Honolulu, HI, a clerk at the Superior Court on Saipan.
The fourth graduate, Aurelia G. Mendiola-Long, obtained a Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner License from Harbor-UCLA, and is working at Tinian Health Center.
“The aim of the local scholarship is to provide financial assistance to Tinian residents pursuing degrees of higher education,” said Janet King, Chairwoman of the Tinian Municipal Scholarship Board. “The leaders of Tinian have shown tremendous support to the scholarship fund, due to the fact that they see education as the key to personal achievement as well as an investment for the island,” she added.
The Tinian Municipal Scholarship is available only to permanent residents of Tinian seeking degrees in higher education. As part of the scholarship policy, applicants sign an agreement to agree to work on Tinian for no less than three years upon graduating from their respective institutions.
Currently there are 127 undergraduate and graduate students from Tinian attending various institutions ranging from Northern Marianas College, Guam Community College, University of Guam, Chaminade University of Honolulu, Community College of Southern Nevada, Framingham State College, Hawaii Pacific University, Kapi’olani Community College.
Some students from the island are also oursuing higher education in Leeward Community College, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Linn-Benton Community College, Michigan State University, Naval Academy, Oregon State University, Pierce College, Santa Monica College, Solano Community College, San Francisco State University, University of St. Thomas, Willamette University, and William Mitchell College of Law.
“Without the scholarship fund, a lot of students would be hard pressed to pay the high costs of tuition,” said Ms. King.
“The people of Tinian know that one day the quality of life will improve significantly when the graduates return to the island and contribute to the population workforce,” she added.
