{"id":286689,"date":"2018-10-16T06:00:26","date_gmt":"2018-10-15T20:00:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/?p=286689"},"modified":"2018-10-16T06:00:26","modified_gmt":"2018-10-15T20:00:26","slug":"live-your-dream-award-now-on-its-5th-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/live-your-dream-award-now-on-its-5th-year\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Live Your Dream\u2019 award now on its 5th year"},"content":{"rendered":"
The 2018 Live Your Dream entries were reviewed by volunteer judges under the supervision of Soroptimist members last Saturday. From left: Soroptimist president Maureen Sebangiol,\u00a0Sue Satur of CNMI Center for Living Independently, Live Your Dream 2016 awardee Rachel Ashley Reyes, Laurie Ogumorro of Karidat Social Services,\u00a0Maisie Tenorio of the Northern Marianas Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence and 2018 Live Your Dream, chair Marilyn Marron. (Bea Cabrera)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Soroptimist International Club NMI Chapter is on its 5th year of running the Live Your Dream Award in the NMI. This is open to all women who are considered head of their families and are enrolled in secondary school. <\/p>\n

A cash prize of $3,000 will be awarded that will help the recipient improve her education, skills and employment prospects.<\/p>\n

According to Soroptimist NMI Chapter Way and Means chair Pam Brown, who also co-chairs this year\u2019s Live Your Dream Award, 14 women have submitted their applications and their stories are now being reviewed.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe turnout this year is bigger than last year,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

There were nine applications for the award program in 2017 and 14 for this year. <\/p>\n

Brown attributes this to the club\u2019s work with the Northern Marianas College and Northern Marianas Trade Institute. \u201cWe send out the information to their Student Affairs Office and they send out an email blast to the women students with all the information,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

To qualify, women applicants must be the head of the family and is currently enrolled in a secondary school.<\/p>\n

Brown said the applicants does not need to be a U.S. citizen to join. Women who are enrolled in an online school are also qualified.<\/p>\n

There is no age requirement \u201cbecause we want to open the opportunity to many women,\u201d Brown added.<\/p>\n

The award prize of $3,000 will go to the recipient to offset\u00a0any\u00a0costs associated with their efforts to attain higher education, such as books, childcare, tuition, and transportation.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe award comes with absolutely no strings attached so they can spend it on anything that they need to spend it on to make their lives better. We always give out at least $3,000 and if we have more money we can give out more,\u201d Brown said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is really nice is, internationally, we give out hundreds of millions of dollars so it\u2019s such a big impact that we totally support the idea that when you educate a woman, you change the community. The education of women and girls is our main focus,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

Last Saturday, the applications were reviewed by the judges composed of Laurie Ogumorro of Karidat Social Services, Sue Satur of the CNMI Center for Living Independently, Maisie Tenorio of the Northern Marianas Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence, and 2016 Live Your Dream awardee, Rachel Ashley Reyes.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are lucky to have this roster of judges who run non-profit organizations to help us this year. Another special thing is one of the judges, Reyes, was a prior recipient of the award and she will be joining the club too,\u201d Brown said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are a lot of memorable stories that the women who joined this year shared with us. It\u2019s really hard because they all bright young women, all of them are professional, that\u2019s why we have judges that are not members of the club so that they can be impartial,\u201d Brown added.<\/p>\n

Brown said that Soroptimist NMI Chapter believes in second chances, that\u2019s why they accommodate repeat applications as long as the women meet the requirements. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe accommodate repeaters and we actually have one applicant from last year and she is applying again. I think any working mother or woman will always have a reason for more money, especially if you\u2019re the head of a family or still a student,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

The Live Your Dream Gala where the winning entry shall be announced will be on Oct. 20, Saturday, at 5:30pm at the Fiesta Resort & Spa in Garapan. Tickets sell at $50 inclusive of food, wine or beer. A ticket helps the Soroptomist NMI Chapter build the funds for next year\u2019s award. For more information, call (670) 234-9480.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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