SHEFA opens new office in Garapan

The Office of the Mayor officially opened the doors of the new Saipan Higher Education Financial Assistance Office last Friday, giving the scholarship office its own home.

The new office is now located at A-42 MIHA Housing in Garapan.

In his welcome remarks, Saipan Chamber of Commerce Alex Sablan president congratulated the people behind SHEFA for assisting prospective students achieve their academic goals, which he said would only redound to the benefit of the CNMI.

Sablan stressed the importance of helping the CNMI’s children achieve their aspirations so they could bring back needed skills to the community.

Saipan Mayor Juan B. Tudela led the opening ceremony, welcoming and thanking guests and visitors for attending the event.

SHEFA chair Darling Ogumoro spoke briefly, also thanking the people who made the event possible and to those who provided assistance in creating SHEFA, such as the Office of the Governor and Rep. Arnold I. Palacios.

The Office of the Mayor took advantage of the event to hand over certificates of appreciation to those behind the opening of the new office: Tom Duenas, Maria Lourdes Ada, Sen. Pete Reyes, Rep. Justo Quitugua, Richard Cabrera, Roger Hernandez, Hiroshi Sakamoto, Francisco Santos, Jerome Demapan, Manny Borja, Ruth Pangelinan, SCC’s Sablan, attorney general Pamela Brown, Deborah Covington, Finance Secretary Fermin Atalig, Ramon Takai, Alfred Pangelinan, Diego Blanco, and Frank Sablan.

Also present in the ceremony were SHEFA board member Joe Guererro, Fr. Ryan Jiminez of Kristo Rai Parish, pastor Raymond S. Kinsella of Grace Christian Academy, former Rep. William S. Torres, Board of Education chair Roman C. Benavente, and SHEFA board member Howard “Max” Macaranas.

SHEFA is a scholarship program that aims to provide supplementary financial assistance, upon availability of funds pursuant to Saipan Local Law 13-21, to qualified residents of Saipan, including residents of the Northern Islands.

The scholarship and financial assistance programs are given to prospective students pursuing a college education on Saipan or abroad.

Currently SHEFA has a total of 220 scholars, with 121 students pursuing studies on the island and 99 students finishing studies in the U.S. mainland.