Recently, Alumknight Christine Fitial Wood Saunders returned to the school to educate and give back to her alma mater with her master’s degree in teaching.

In 2008, Saunders earned her Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of San Diego, and in 2016 she received her Masters in Teaching from the University of Southern California. She shares, “Teaching is what I’ve dreamt of doing since I was a little girl. I realized in grad school that I’m a natural when it comes to education. At USC, I genuinely enjoyed all of my classes. They were easy to me because I was truly interested in the content.”

Saunders is no stranger to the school as she attended MCS from 1996 to 2004 and her own father, former Governor Benigno Fitial, is also an AlumKnight who has been recognized by the school as an AlumKnight of the Year.

At her alma mater, Saunders notes that she learned valuable life lessons. As she put it, “Mount Carmel School has taught me to be diligent in my pursuit of academic success. Every academic achievement I received at MCS propelled me towards obtaining more achievements in my time in the states. She continued, “I wanted to give back. I was able to succeed in college and graduate school because MCS taught me to strive for greatness. I want to give back to the school that inspired me by hopefully inspiring future generations of Knights. “

Saunders teaches English, Reading, and Composition, and hopes to inspire and positively affect the lives of her future students, “I want to be a living example - that they see every day - of what they can become.”

Recognizing her achievements, the school’s Sacred Heart Chapter of the National Honor Society, of which she herself was a member in high school, invited her to deliver the keynote address at its recent induction ceremony.

School president Dr. Galvin Deleon Guerrero honored Mrs. Saunders' accomplishments and dedication to the school, “MCS always welcomes its Alumknights to come and give back to the school in any way they can, in which Mrs. Saunders was kind hearted and enthusiastic to rejoin us.” He added, “Mrs. Saunders is a great addition to our faculty and will use her variety of academic achievements to help inspire future generations of AlumKnights.”

To learn more about MCS and its AlumKnights, visit  www.mountcarmelsaipan.com.