{"id":389474,"date":"2023-04-14T06:06:27","date_gmt":"2023-04-13T20:06:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/?p=389474"},"modified":"2023-04-14T06:06:27","modified_gmt":"2023-04-13T20:06:27","slug":"uog-student-selected-for-prestigious-truman-scholarship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/uog-student-selected-for-prestigious-truman-scholarship\/","title":{"rendered":"UOG student selected for prestigious Truman Scholarship"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Christian Gyles Ramos, the 20th Truman Scholar from the University of Guam, is congratulated by his mentor, Dr. Gena Rojas, and\u00a0vice president of Administration and Finance and chief business officer\u00a0Randy Wiegand. (UNIVERSITY OF GUAM)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Christian Gyles Ramos, a University of Guam junior majoring in business, has a simple aspiration: He wants to become the first in his immigrant family from the Philippines to earn a U.S. college degree.<\/p>\n

It turns out a whole new world of academic opportunity\u2014something nationwide in scale\u2014awaits this student, who didn\u2019t think college was within reach financially.<\/p>\n

Ramos has been selected for the Truman Scholarship, a highly competitive and prestigious scholarship established by the U.S. Congress in 1975 as the living memorial to President Harry S. Truman. Ramos can use the $30,000 scholarship to pursue graduate studies and unlock the door to admission into some of the country\u2019s top universities.<\/p>\n

He is the 20th student from the University of Guam to become a Truman Scholar since 1978.<\/p>\n

Ramos is one of 62 Truman Scholars this year out of 705 candidates nominated by 275 colleges and universities across the nation.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Christian Gyles Ramos, the 20th Truman Scholar from the University of Guam, holds a congratulatory letter as he is joined by School of Business and Public Administration faculty and administrators. From left, Frank Ishizaki, Dr. Judi Guthertz, dean Lawrence Camacho,\u00a0Dr. Sharleen Santos Bamba, Dr. Gena Rojas, Dr. Fred Schumann, Iinterim SBPA dean Dr. Roseann Jones, Dr. James Ji and Dr. Ron McNinch. (UNIVERSITY OF GUAM)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The scholarship also opens up eligibility into the U.S. Foreign Service, which means he\u2019ll have a shot at a future career as a diplomat. Truman scholars\u2019 eligibility into the U.S. Foreign Service is part of the legacy of the late Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, said Dr. Gena Rojas, who is a mentor to Ramos and was the eighth Truman Scholar from UOG, having earned it in 2002.<\/p>\n

“This scholarship is about being a change agent. It demonstrates you have the commitment to public service, a commitment to positively contribute to communities and to societies at large. Christian’s advocacy to give a voice to many in our society who have not felt seen or heard is one the best examples of a Truman Scholar and a UOG Triton,” said Rojas.<\/p>\n

The announcement brought tears of joy to many who recently gathered at UOG with the Ramos family.<\/p>\n

For the Ramos family, it was a breakthrough from a cycle of juggling jobs to get by and putting aside the college dreams of some in the 10-children household.<\/p>\n

For UOG, Ramos’ achievement showcases that UOG students are among nation\u2019s best, and that UOG has faculty mentors dedicated to seeing their students succeed.<\/p>\n

It could not have happened to a better student than Ramos, said vice president of Administration and Finance and chief business officer Randy Wiegand.<\/p>\n

Ramos recalled that he wasn\u2019t even sure if he could afford college because his parents were raising him and his nine siblings.<\/p>\n

He said he thought of going straight from high school into getting a job because he didn\u2019t want to burden his parents. His mom, Berlyn Ramos, works in food service while his dad, Jaime Ramos, was a taxi driver until a stroke made it impossible for him to continue.<\/p>\n

Despite the challenges his family faced, Christian Ramos\u2019 parents were his biggest champions for him getting a college education.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m really proud of what I was able to endure and what my family was able to endure,\u201d said Ramos.<\/p>\n

Dr. Sharleen Santos Bamba, interim vice provost for Academic Excellence, Graduate Studies and Online Learning, said, \u201cIt is amazing to know that our students can compete anywhere in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

UOG\u2019s Truman Scholars over the years:<\/p>\n

\u2022 Kehani Mendiola \u2013 2021
\n\u2022 Athena McNinch \u20132017
\n\u2022 Rebecca Casimbon \u2013 2015
\n\u2022 Jose Salas Cruz, Jr. \u2013 2009
\n\u2022 Elvira Manglona \u2013 2007
\n\u2022 Sahara June Defensor \u2013 2006
\n\u2022 JakinDee M. Aguon-Perez \u2013 2005
\n\u2022 Donna L. Gomez \u2013 2001
\n\u2022 Mary Grace Mendoza-Lapid \u2013 2000
\n\u2022 Willian B. Cruz-Jones \u2013 2004
\n\u2022 Gena A. Rojas \u2013 2002
\n\u2022 Jesse T. San Nicolas \u2013 1990
\n\u2022 Duane M. George \u2013 1989
\n\u2022 Demian M. Fitzgerald \u2013 1988
\n\u2022 Leilana V. Lujan \u2013 1986
\n\u2022 John Jerry Ignacio \u2013 1985
\n\u2022 Marie T. Deloso \u2013 1983
\n\u2022 Maria Nancy V. Guhit \u2013 1979
\n\u2022 Joaquin V. Leon Guerrero \u2013 1978
\n\u2022
\nFor more information about the Truman Scholarship application at UOG, contact Rojas, associate professor of Public Administration, School of Business and Public Administration at (671)735-2514\/2501 or rojasg@triton.uog.edu. (UOG)<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Christian Gyles Ramos, a University of Guam junior majoring in business, has a simple aspiration:…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":28,"featured_media":389484,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[445],"class_list":["post-389474","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local-news","tag-uog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/389474","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=389474"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/389474\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/389484"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=389474"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=389474"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=389474"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}