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2 from NMI bag PREL scholarships
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Posted on Jul 22 2004
Justina Foster and Christina Santa Maria of the Northern Mariana Islands have been chosen as two of five residents of the U.S.-affiliated Pacific who were awarded Pacific Teacher Scholarships from Pacific Resources for Education and Learning.
The recipients, who are all students in teacher preparation programs, will each receive $500 to help pay for tuition and expenses in the 2004-2005 academic year.
Foster traces her interest in teaching to childhood experiences helping her mother teach traditional Carolinian crafts. When she receives her degree in Elementary Education from Northern Marianas College she plans to teach Kindergarten in CNMI.
Santa Maria is the daughter of two teachers, and they inspired her to go into teaching. When she graduates from NMC, she hopes to give back to her community by teaching U.S. history at the high school she attended from in the CNMI.
Foster, Santa Marian, and the other three recipients will be attending their local community colleges. After graduation, they all intend to teach in their home entities.
Another recipient, Lorie Milne, is from the Republic of the Marshall Islands. She has been an elementary school teacher since 2000. When she graduates from the College of the Marshall Islands, she plans to continue teaching in RMI.
“My dream is to finish college and have a good education to serve my country for a brighter future,” she said.
Lui Paulo of American Samoa is a student at American Samoa Community College and is president of that school’s Student Government Association. He plans to obtain a graduate degree in linguistics and then teach English as a Second Language in American Samoa.
Recipient Begonia Tewid of Palau grew up wanting to be a teacher, and even played “teacher and student” with other children in her neighborhood. She now teaches Special Education and plans to continue teaching in the field in Palau after her graduation from Palau Community College.
This new annual scholarship was established by PREL to increase the number of qualified teachers in the U.S.-affiliated Pacific.
