On May 5, 2025, the United States District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands hosted the 10th Annual Ninth Circuit Civics Contest District Level Awards Ceremony to honor this year's winners from the District. The Ninth Circuit Civics Contest is an essay and video contest for high school students in the western United States and two Pacific Island jurisdictions. This year's theme is: "When Duty Calls: Why Exercising the Rights and Responsibilities of Citizenship is Important to Me.” Students were challenged to explore what it means to be a U.S. citizen, to reflect on the rights and responsibilities that citizenship entails, and to share how those principles impact their lives and communities.
The essays were returned to the District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands without any name or school identifiers to be judged solely on the students’ understanding of constitutional principles, clarity and effectiveness in expressing the theme, grammar, spelling, and composition, and use of footnotes and bibliographies properly attributing information taken from other sources.
The winners for the essay category were:
1st Place ($200) – Jia Ross Nicdao from Marianas High School
2nd Place ($150) – Julia Taitano from Marianas High School
3rd Place ($100) – Jessica Kim from Saipan International School
The winners for the video category were:
1st Place ($200) – Dong Hyun Lee, Dong Gyu Lee, and Jiho Kong from Saipan International School - Winning Video
2nd Place ($150) – Misha Kim from Saipan International School
3rd Place ($100) – Kenny Zhang, Maria Zheng, and Jie Yi Zheng from Marianas High School
L-R: Chief Judge Manglona, Law Clerk Michel Li, 3rd place essay winner Jessica Kim, Saipan International School; Law Clerk Hannah Robertson, 2nd place essay winner Julia Taitano, Marianas High School; 1st place video winner - team of Dong Hyun Lee, Jiho Kong, and Dong Gyu Lee, Saipan International School; 2nd place video winner Misha Kim, Saipan International School; 3rd place video winner - team of Kenny Zhang, Maria Zheng, and Jie Yi Zheng, Marianas High School; and Magistrate Judge Kennedy. (Not in photo: 1st place essay winner Jia Ross Nicdao, Marianas High School.)
1st Place Video Category Winners: Dong Hyun Lee, Dong Gyu Lee, and Jiho Kong from Saipan International School.