The Northern Marianas College says it has been a stressful time for everyone in the aftermath of Typhoon Soudelor, and students are eager to go back to classes to gain some normalcy.
The Northern Marianas only college says there are some 18 buildings in different states of disrepair, with four unusable, including the college gym.
The College director of external relations, Frankie Eliptico, says most of the classrooms were spared, and this week they have been able to resume the last week of summer classes, which has come as a relief to students.
"The storm affected everybody on the island. Students, their families, our employees, so there's a lot of stress and a lot anxiety across the whole islands. But for the continuation of the summer semester this week I was told by our instructor that all of our students except one came back to school. So a lot of them are eager to come back to school to gain some sense of normalcy again."
Frankie Eliptico says people are staying positive by focussing on rebuilding, and staff are working to ensure the campus is ready for the fall semester, due to begin on September 28th.
Northern Marianas College before Soudelor hit. Photo: RNZ Mark Rabago
