Ten students from the University of Guam were among last semester’s recipients of more than $18,000 in scholarship funds from the First Hawaiian Bank and Guam Business Magazine Businesswoman of the Year program.

Alongside three students from Guam Community College, the recipients from UOG were Joby Marie D. Catibog, Magdiel A. Corpuz, Floregine Dela Cruz, Maria Allora Esmero, Vanessa Andrea S. Espinosa, Rudd Emmanuel V. Gudmalin, Ryan Troy R. Imamura, Amery Jane A. Madeloso, Alvijane Joy F. Manabat, and Claudette A. San Nicolas.

The Scholarship was open to full- and part-time students at the University of Guam, Guam Community College and Northern Marianas College, and awards were based on the recipients’ total number of credit hours for the semester, GPA of 3.0 or higher, involvement in the community and potential for success in business.

Manabat, a recent graduate of the University of Guam, said that she’s thankful that scholarship funds were available for her throughout her academic career to help her walk across the big stage with a bachelor of accounting during the Fall 2015 Commencement ceremony.

“I’m from Saipan,” she said, “so I needed the scholarship financially. Every little bit helps.

San Nicolas, a senior business administration major concentrating on international tourism and hospitality management, said for a transfer student like herself, the scholarship helps her achieve her academic goals by helping to pay for school-related necessities.

Manabat and San Nicolas both said UOG has helped provide invaluable opportunities that exposed them to the business world.

“I’ve always been into tourism and wanted to go into that field,” San Nicolas said. “But there were no opportunities in the CMNI. When I transferred to UOG, my adviser told me about a lot of opportunities in the tourism field and recommended me for the Image Guam project.”