NMC Tourism Scholarships awarded to nine students

The Northern Marianas College Tourism Scholarship Board recently presented scholarship awards to nine deserving hospitality management students in fulfilling its mission to provide financial assistance towards the development of hospitality professionals in the CNMI.

The nine recipients for the Fall 2005 semester include NMC students Jean Ballesteros, Rannel Calixterio, Kyungmi Han, Sylvia Leon Guerrerro, Li Min Miao, Joseph John Muna, Janice Santos, Yan Zhang Sattler, and full-time Pacific Islands Club employee Elitza Stoilova, who is taking hospitality management courses through the Educational Institute of the American Hotel and Motel Association.

Established in 2003 by an NMC Board of Regents Resolution, the Tourism Scholarship is funded through monetary contributions from members of the Hotel Association of the Northern Mariana Islands.

NMC president Tony Deleon Guerrero expressed his sincere appreciation to the HANMI members that have generously contributed to the Tourism Scholarship fund and urged all of the HANMI members to continue supporting this valuable program.

The scholarship is administered by a four-member board consisting of Hyatt Regency Saipan human resources director Josephine Mesta, Pacific Islands Club Saipan human resources manager Angel Yamashita, NMC Financial Aid counselor Daisy Manglona-Propst, and NMC Business Department chair Larry Lee.

A total of 25 tourism scholarships have been awarded to date. The purposes of the Tourism Scholarship are to: Develop hospitality professionals by providing financial assistance and on-the-job training opportunities to high school and college students in their pursuit of careers in the tourism and hospitality industry; to help alleviate the critical current and future shortage of skilled and trained workforce for the CNMI; and to provide current tourism industry employees with opportunities to improve their knowledge and skills, and enhance their career and professional development.

The number of scholarships awarded each year depend upon the availability of funds. To be eligible for this scholarship, an applicant must: 1) Be a U.S. citizen or CNMI resident, and/or be currently employed in the hospitality industry with at least two years of employment service in the CNMI; 2) Be enrolled as a full- or part-time student majoring in hospitality management at NMC or be enrolled in another approved professional tourism course during the semester that the scholarship is being awarded; and 3) Have a cumulative GPA of 2.5 or higher (does not apply to industry employee applicants).

Interested applicants may obtain a Tourism Scholarship application form from the NMC Financial Aid Office, NMC Business Department, or HANMI member hotel.

The deadline for Spring 2006 semester applications is Jan. 31, 2005. For more information, please contact Larry Lee at tel: 234-5498, ext. 1811, or email: larryl@nmcnet.edu. (PR)