There are countless reasons why we’re incredibly proud of Panha.  This recent state school graduate started with ISF at grade 5 and we’ve had the pleasure of watching him flourish. Through hard work and dedication, this ambitious youth rose to the top of an English Language Speaking Contest ISF held earlier this year. Prizes included a trophy and the opportunity to travel to Hong Kong for a weeklong language immersion trip. Now, we’re once again proud to announce that Panha has been accepted to not only one, but two, universities.  During the day he’ll continue his English studies at one of Cambodia’s flagship universities; the Institute of Foreign Languages, which is a part of the Royal University of Phnom Penh.  And in the evenings, Panha will chase his dream to become an architect at Norton University. He took a moment out of his busy schedule to talk to us about his life at ISF and optimistic plans for the future.

As a budding architect, Panha describes his trip with ISF to Hong Kong as absolutely inspiring. “Oh wow, they have very wonderful architecture. A lot of types of building designs with different  advantages, like building a football field on the roof! They don’t have a lot of land so they build up. It’s very smart!”. His dream is to take those world-class engineering techniques and mix them with traditional Khmer design to build progressive, creative, sustainable and modern Cambodian architecture. As part of the field trip, he also visited two English Schools Foundation (ESF) schools, West Island and KGV schools which exposed him to an educational system other than his own. He came away with an admiration for the experiential way of learning he saw, where students learned through a mix of lecture and lab work. 

Panha observes experiential learning firsthand in Hong Kong

ESF is the largest provider of English-medium international education in Hong Kong. ISF have recently began a 3-year partnership with them to review our Education Programme and develop a strategy to further improve its impact. 

Panha credits ISF with helping him develop computer competency, soft skills, and higher level English conversation. In particular, he stated that his English lessons at ISF have made him more confident. “Because I have experience at ISF, it’s easy to talk to people and understand what they’re doing.”

Starting a New Life

At home, he says his family is supportive of him as he enters a new life as a university student.  “They worry because the school is far from home. But it’s a great school, so they say, ‘You can go as you want’”. Panha’s mother is a home-maker and part-time librarian at one of ISF’s community libraries, and his father is a moto-taxi driver. Neither have had higher education.  He also has a younger sister who is happy for him. “She thinks it’s great. She doesn’t know if [my schedule will be] hard or not, but she says, ‘Oh, it’s great!’” 

When talking about beginning this new stage in his education, he expresses the heady mix of exhilaration and dread we all face at life’s big changes. “At first, I feel excited but a little bit nervous. It’s a new school and I don’t know [anyone]. I need to make all new friends.”  Though Panha seems to be coming to terms with it all, “But now it’s OK, I know I can make friends.”

Post-Graduate Support from ISF

ISF will continue to support Panha on his educational journey.  While he pursues higher education, he will have access to ISF facilities and counselors and will receive support such as school supplies, a laptop and food parcels, which will still be sent to his family monthly to alleviate financial stress.  Our aim is to give him, and other students like him that graduate each year, the best possible footing when entering university. With 98% of ISF students progressing to the next grade and 80 new graduates going on to state school, we hope to support many more in the future. For now, we‘ll be rooting for Panha until he receives his cap and gown and beyond.