\n\t\t\t\tAlumKnight John Del Rosario teaches English and Journalism at Mount Carmel School. (Contributed Photo)\n\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\nJacqueline P. Che, \u201805<\/strong>
\nWhen not busy as the director of Institutional Effectiveness at Northern Marianas College, a member of the Pacific Century Fellows, and an active member of the island community, 2005 AlumKnight Jacqueline \u201cJackie\u201d P. Che somehow finds time to both teach at her alma mater and serve on its board of directors. A teacher of Advanced Placement United States History for about three years now, Che runs down to the school from the college during her lunch hour to teach her course.<\/p>\nWhen asked what motivates her, Che said, \u201cI agreed to teach because I love Mount Carmel School in general and these students especially because they are so eager and willing to learn. My work here at MCS is something I\u2019m very passionate about, especially since I attended here for all 12 years and I feel I owe it to give back to a school that\u2019s given me so much.\u201d<\/p>\n
As an AlumKnight, Che is very proud of her alma mater. \u201cWe have amazing students who are proud of their school as well and very dedicated and motivated faculty, staff, and leaders. \u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhenever I come back to campus I see the love there and that love inspires me and makes me proud of the school. We have a long and rich legacy and I feel I\u2019m doing my part to move that legacy forward.\u201d<\/p>\n
John Del Rosario, \u201906<\/strong>
\nFreelance writer, magazine editor, social media impresario, and political aficionado are just some of the many roles that 2006 AlumKnight John Del Rosario has held over the years. But that did not stop him from returning to his alma mater in 2014 to teach English and Journalism. John, or, as his students have come to call him, \u201cMr. Delro,\u201d returned to his alma mater because of a promise he made when he graduated. He recalled that at his graduation ceremony, Bishop Emeritus Tomas A. Camacho \u201cshook my hand and said, \u2018Will you come back to teach?\u2019 And so I said yes and knew that I had to come back sooner or later.\u201d<\/p>\nSince coming back, Del Rosario has appreciated the support and room to grow that he has been granted as a teacher. \u201cThe school gives teachers the creative control to do what they do, which gives me an opportunity to express myself, to teach in the style that I want to teach.\u201d \u00a0In particular, Del Rosario appreciates the opportunity to bridge the gap between his generation of AlumKnights and the current generation of Knights.<\/p>\n
Above all, though, Del Rosario values the rapport he has developed with his students. \u201cAt one point, I tweeted something about the students and I referred to them as \u2018my kids.\u2019 Something happened there,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s when I realized this thing, showing up from 7am to 4pm everyday is more than just a job; it\u2019s my mission to see that \u2018my kids\u2019 move forward in life.\u201d<\/p>\n
Crystal Cing Cabrera, \u201905<\/strong>
\nEven while a student at her alma mater, 2005 AlumKnight Crystal Cing Cabrera got a taste of what it\u2019s like to teach because back then, her mother, Abigail Cabrera, was teaching at the school. But now, Cabrera is in the front of the class teaching, and although her mother is a lifelong educator, teaching is something Cabrera never thought she would do.<\/p>\n\u201cI wanted to do volunteer work on the weekends, but the principal, Mrs. [Frances] Taimanao said we don\u2019t have an art teacher right now. I wasn\u2019t sure if it would work out, but it did and here I am.\u201d<\/p>\n
Like Che, to teach at her alma mater, Cabrera runs over during her lunch breaks from her work at the Department of Public Works in architecture and engineering. Despite this challenge, Cabrera felt compelled to give back to the school. \u201cMount Carmel School has always had such a great art program. From 1st grade we were doing oil pastels with the Zepedas, and because of that program, I found my calling in architecture.\u201d<\/p>\n
However, she recalls that, at first, her students didn\u2019t feel the same way about art. \u201cOn the first day, everyone was like, \u2018I\u2019m not an artist.\u2019\u201d That soon changed though. \u201cNow my students that have never drawn before are surprising me by not only applying what I\u2019m teaching but also creating their own pieces.\u201d This has only reinforced her belief that \u201ceveryone is an artist it\u2019s just about developing your skill and having a creative outlet.\u201d<\/p>\n
Other AlumKnights<\/strong>
\nFuture stories will feature reflections from other AlumKnights who are giving back to their alma mater, including the following: \u00a0Fred Guerrero \u201984, John Blanco \u201990, Galvin Deleon Guerrero \u201991, Roxanne Diaz \u201994, Tasia Sablan \u201905, Francine Atalig \u201905, and Kevin Bautista \u201911. (MCS)<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Over the past few years, Mount Carmel School has seen an increase in the number…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":28,"featured_media":211786,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[6430,163,1111,7142],"class_list":["post-211775","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local-news","tag-kevin-bautista","tag-kids","tag-mount-carmel-school","tag-pacific-century-fellows"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/211775","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=211775"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/211775\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/211786"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=211775"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=211775"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=211775"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}