The Rotary Club of Saipan inducted their newest member, IT&E senior manager Laarni Zapanta, last Tuesday during the club’s weekly meeting at the Crowne Plaza Resort Saipan. Zapanta will be joining the club’s community service committee.

As a new member eager to help the community, Zapanta plans to get more involved and engaged in community events, as well as network with all the leaders within the Rotary.

Zapanta recounts that her long and successful journey with IT&E got started during her sophomore year at Marianas High School when she took part in the co-op program and applied with the telecommunications company. She failed her initial interview with IT&E, but that did not faze her and she soon applied again, this time succeeding in landing a role at IT&E. She has never left IT&E since then.

As a co-op student, IT&E had always been her first choice and Zapanta says that her decision to participate in the co-op program changed her life for the better.

“It got me to where I’m at right now and I am also very thankful for all the guidance that I’ve had from all my mentors at IT&E. They really believed in me and molded me into becoming one of the leaders in this organization,” she said.

The Public School System’s co-op program exposes students to different careers outside of the classroom setting.

Zapanta’s advice for co-op students is to, “Go in there, be prepared and absorb everything that you are learning from your mentor at school. Be really intentional with the job you want to apply for because you’ve got to give it your best.”

At IT&E, Zapanta started as an intern in sales and marketing, and then became an intern in the engineering department. She finally started working full-time as a customer service representative after graduating from high school in 2008. Zapanta worked her way up to becoming a supervisor, eventually became a manager, and she is now IT&E’s senior manager. During this time period, Zapanta had also received her bachelor’s degree at Northern Marianas College. Zapanta recently received her master’s degree in management and leadership from Western Governor’s University.

For the people who want to enter the management field, Zapanta says, “You need to have a service mentality. You need the desire to serve people. Leadership is not just a decision for me, it is more of an opportunity to serve others.”