TINIAN – Three Tinian students earned the island’s first bachelor’s degrees in more than a decade without ever leaving home, and a fourth became the first Northern Marianas College student from Tinian to receive a Distinguished Award, at the college’s 45th Commencement Exercise, the college said.
Nikki Cepeda, Lorna Cruz and Rufina Palacios each received a Bachelor of Science in Education with an elementary education concentration, the first bachelor’s degrees conferred on Tinian students since 2015. Most bachelor’s candidates relocate to Saipan or already live there to finish coursework; the three completed the entire program on Tinian through a collaboration between the School of Education and the NMC Tinian Center, the college said.
Two of them will teach at Tinian High School this school year, NMC Tinian Center Executive Director Maria Aguon said.
Ismail Hossain, who earned an Associate of Arts in Liberal Arts with an education emphasis, received the Distinguished Award in Leadership at the associate degree level, the first Distinguished Award for a Tinian student. When Super Typhoon Sinlaku struck Tinian in April, Hossain flew home to volunteer, worked alongside World Central Kitchen on the island and went on to document the recovery for the Pacific Daily News and Marianas Press, said Monique Boyer Sablan, director of the Center for Training and Innovation, who served as mistress of ceremony. Hossain is now pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Education at NMC.
The college conferred degrees on more than 220 graduates from the Class of 2026. Several of the Tinian graduates began at the Tinian Center before finishing their programs on Saipan, and many were away from home when Sinlaku hit the island directly.
“Students on Tinian can achieve their college dreams by starting right here at NMC Tinian,” Aguon said. She thanked the School of Education faculty and staff who worked with the Tinian students so they could complete their degrees while staying connected to their home community.
