Pellegrino: Give NMTI students a try

Northern Marianas Trade Institute founder Anthony Pellegrino appealed Tuesday to the business sector and the community to give the institution’s students a “chance” to prove themselves.

He disclosed that after establishing the trade institute three years ago, several individuals from all walks of life have been helped by the school in enhancing their skills and finding employment for their livelihood.

“They’re fantastic workers given the right motivation. So please when you meet your friends, relatives, retirees tell them to check us out,” appealed Pellegrino during the weekly Saipan Rotary Club meeting at Hyatt Regency Saipan, where he served as guest speaker.

Pellegrino said that the institute is instilling in their students three important elements that will guide them to the rightful employment that they desire: head, heart, and hands.

Head represents the working attitude, heart for work ethic, and hands for individual skills.

For Pellegrino, some nations did not succeed because its people—the country’s greatest assets—don’t have the right attitude such as the Commonwealth.

“The attitude to work: That’s what this island needs. Our institute is here to help educate men and women who have the desire and willingness to learn. Our door is open and we will totally embrace them,” he said.

Pellegrino shared with Rotarians the institution’s humble beginnings at a house in Dandan until it moved to a warehouse facility in Lower Base.

Pellegrino also shared several success stories of NMTI students. Among them were the new hires of Commonwealth Utilities Corp.

He urged government agencies and businesses to either hire or provide training to the institution’s students to see their capabilities and talents.

At present, he claims NMTI has about 145 students, majority of whom are poor and have no means to pay for tuition but eager to learn in whatever way.

He revealed that many of its enrollees were high school dropouts, incarcerated in the past, and depend on food stamp assistance and help from Workforce Investment Agency.

Although he admitted that funding is among the institution’s challenges, Pellegrino did not elaborate further on the issue. However, he recognized the efforts of Congressman Gregorio Kilili C. Sablan in helping NMTI secure a $200,000 federal grant.

Pellegrino will also fly to Washington, D.C. next month to meet the assistant secretary of U.S. Labor Department to see if a job corps could also be extended to the Commonwealth.