{"id":205738,"date":"2015-07-03T06:06:23","date_gmt":"2015-07-02T20:06:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/?p=205738"},"modified":"2015-07-03T06:06:23","modified_gmt":"2015-07-02T20:06:23","slug":"uog-graduate-students-recognized-with-presidential-thesis-award","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/uog-graduate-students-recognized-with-presidential-thesis-award\/","title":{"rendered":"UOG graduate students recognized with Presidential Thesis Award"},"content":{"rendered":"

The University of Guam Office of Graduate Studies, Research and Sponsored programs recently presented the Presidential Thesis Award to graduate students Royce Camacho and Maira Arriola.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m very pleased to see a growing interest in relevant topics that have meaning not only to this island but to the region,\u201d said Dr. Anita Borja Enriquez, Senior Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs. \u201cI\u2019m proud of UOG for providing an ecosystem of support for these two scholars.\u201d
\n

\"Graduate<\/a>
Graduate students Maira Arriola, left, and Royce Camacho were recognized with the Presidential Thesis Award on May 13. (UOG)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/p>\n

Camacho, who received a Master of Arts in English, explored the various identities of former Sen. Angel Santos in his thesis titled, \u201cThe Writing on the Wall: 21st Century Imaginings of a Chamoru Rights Activist.<\/p>\n

\u201cI saw this void in the literature on his activism in terms of his writing,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Arriola, who received a Master of Science in Clinical Psychology, used this opportunity to continue preliminary research from her senior honors thesis that focuses on the role of traditional healers in treating mental health. Her thesis is titled, \u201cPatients\u2019 Perspectives on Indigenous Healthcare Received from Suruhanus and Suruhanas from the Pacific Island of Saipan.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOften times, the literature focuses on the healers not the patients,\u201d she said. \u201cMy thesis is about celebrating our practices of traditional healing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Along with plaques, the students were given a financial award of $500 each as recipients of the Presidential Thesis Award. Both Camacho and Arriola said it was an honor, noting the impact their studies have to the perpetuation of the Chamorro culture.<\/p>\n

Students are selected at the end of the academic year after each graduate studies program submits its nominee for the award. A committee appointed by the graduate council then deliberates and chooses winners. This year, four students were nominated for the award.<\/p>\n

\u201cReceiving this award, I\u2019m very moved,\u201d said Arriola. \u201cIt\u2019s an honor to continue the effort of our indigenous practices. I\u2019m honored. I\u2019m speechless. And I\u2019m humbled.\u201d<\/p>\n

Royce said that the University of Guam staff and English masters program have been invaluable to completion of his thesis.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t imagine doing what I\u2019ve done anywhere else,\u201d he said. \u201cBeing here makes it that much easier.\u201d<\/p>\n

Arriola, who\u2019s originally from Saipan, said attending UOG from undergrad until now has been a great experience because she gets to be close to home but also surrounded by a larger academic community.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a great opportunity,\u201d Arriola said. \u201cI\u2019ve grown as a person just being exposed to the university community.\u201d (UOG)<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The University of Guam Office of Graduate Studies, Research and Sponsored programs recently presented the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":28,"featured_media":205741,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[5847,1433,5848,445],"class_list":["post-205738","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local-news","tag-angel-santos","tag-anita-borja-enriquez","tag-presidential-thesis-award","tag-uog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/205738","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/28"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=205738"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/205738\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/205741"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=205738"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=205738"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=205738"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}