The active life of Yvette Bennett

Beauty titlist and Kagman High School campus personality Yvette Deleon Guerrero Bennett shares with the Saipan Tribune how sports activities continue to inspire and improve her as a student and as an individual. A senior student at Kagman High, Yvette is an active member of the national track team of the Northern Marianas Athletics and the CNMI women’s national basketball group. She is the proud daughter of Lillian and Ambrose Bennett.

[B]Saipan Tribune: What do you gain as a student, individual, and youth from community and sports activities?

Answer:[/B] Being active in sports and the community really helps me as a student, a young adult and an individual. With sports always being there with me, it has taught me so much about life and how to handle it. Being active in the community helps me as a young adult and an individual to open up more to people and just being able to even talk to people of any age, for example. I play basketball and run track and field and they both help in mainly two ways: with basketball it taught me how to play (work) as a team and with track it taught me how to be an individual. So both sports help me look at things in life in different ways and help me become a better person.
[B] ST: What satisfaction do you get from those experiences?

A:[/B] I am getting a lot out of all these experiences. I get to walk away with more knowledge, more or better skills, and learning more from each one.

[B]ST: What notable contribution in school and in the community do you value the most?

A:[/B] At my high school, Kagman High, I’m a member of the National Honor Society and that is something I’m proud of. I enjoy being part of the NHS at my school because we help out with the community with beach cleanups and even volunteer for community activities and I really enjoy doing all that. It makes me feel good as a person.

[B]ST: You were raised in a family whose members are known in different fields. Shequita Bennett is a former Miss Marianas Universe, Yvonne is a popular athlete, and your father as ex-NMI teacher rep. How do their status and experiences motivate you as an individual?

A:[/B] All my family’s achievements and experiences help me become the individual I am today. They all have done so much with their lives and did it all so well and that helps me and motivates me to do well just like them. I could say I have had my own achievements, like participating in the 2007 Miss Marianas Teen pageant where I was a top 5 finalist and won the Best in Evening Gown award. With that experience it really made me feel different about myself because I didn’t think I could put myself out there but I did, and to me that was the best award from that experience.

[B]ST: How does it feel to be a sister and a daughter to these persons?

A:[/B] Being the daughter and sister of these people is just like being with any other family. I mean at times we go places and people would either mistake me for my older sister Shequita or my twin sister Yvonne, or they would even call me “Bennett’s daughter” but other than that, I still have stuff to do around home and tell them “I love you” everyday.

[B]ST: What are your other fields of interest and why?

A:[/B] Besides my interest in sports and volunteering, I really enjoy modeling. Modeling is something I’ve always loved and want to do in my life. It’s something that I enjoy doing besides sports. I mean, it is nice to get out of basketball shorts and dress up every once in a while. I have been doing some modeling here on the island, mainly with DFS Galleria. So modeling is something I also do for fun and one day I hope to call myself a professional model and have that career I’ve been dreaming of.

[B]ST: What do you think are the most interesting and important issues for youths today?

A:[/B] The most interesting issue out there for me would have to be the style of eating in the CNMI. I really do believe that this is a big issue because a lot of people, especially the youth, have trouble putting themselves out there and becoming more active. I mean look at it this way, if you pay real close attention to the athletes, especially the youth athletes, you would see most of the same faces in almost all the sports. We have the same athletes playing more than one sport and going to off island trips to play more sports.

[B]ST: How should this issue be addressed?

A:[/B] I think we should just have more sport facilities, the community’s involvement with the issue, and to just lend a helping hand to those who need one. My advice to my fellow youth is to just try something new, whether a sport or to even go walking for 30 minutes. If you are just beginning to workout—exercise—just start of with 30 minutes a day, then slowly increase your time of exercise to at least an hour and 30 minutes a day until you get the hang of working out. Also you can do it with friends to make it a lot more fun!