Leave to Serve: Sophuth Phon ‘19

LEAVE TO SERVE

Sophuth Phon, ‘19

Cambodian | Recipient of a Jean-Marie Beurel Scholarship

It’s quite the acatalepsy upon fully describing how impactful the SJI International scholarship and high school experience has benefited me.

Prior to this opportunity, I never really knew my ambitions or how I want to spend my life meaningfully. Upon studying at SJI International, an epiphany awakened my passion for Geography. My first trip to Singapore was in 2014, when I fell in love with the urban planning and cityscape of this citystate. The fact that I studied in Singapore for high school really motivated me to pursue Geography as a higher level subject.

The community has also been kind and caring to us international scholarship recipients, another major motivator. Leaving SJI International was especially hard when you are so attached to the loving community and people there.

After three years under SJII’s wings, I’ve committed my future to Urban Studies and Planning. I would like to transform my hometown to something like Singapore and that will be how I “leave to serve.”

Life is pretty good here. I’ve just finished my first year at the State University of New York at Geneseo, majoring in Geography and minoring in Urban Studies. I work with the Campus Auxiliary Service department at the food service. I spend one shift making smoothies and milkshakes, and another shift making chicken nuggets and pizzas. It hasn’t been the university experience that I anticipated due to the pandemic, so many classes were held online and asynchronous. Nonetheless, my passion for Urban Studies and Planning hasn’t faded one bit. It is also an opportunity for me to study how American cities were planned and built, which will help me in my future career. Although I may be fixed on Urban Studies and Planning, I will keep an open mind for any opportunity that may come across.