XJS-BMC | The high school students of Xavier Jesuit School (XJS) received a warm and inspiration visit from the Deputy Director of General Education of the Ministry of Education, Youth, and Sports (MoEYS), His Excellency, Dr. Mok Sarom. Also with him were H.E. Dr. Heng Seang, the Advisor to the Ministry, Mr. Tim Vorn, Chief of Office, and Mr. Chhou Bunroeung, the Director of the Department of Education, Youth and Sports of Banteay Meanchey Province.
Around 140 students from Grades 10, 11, and 12 of XJS welcomed our prestigious visitors. The primary purpose of their visit is to have a public dialogue focusing about our school’s story, students’ and teachers’ testimonials and our visitors’ set of experiences.
Our beloved guests were warmly received by our high school students, members of the School Leadership Team led by Br. Noel Oliver, S.J., Acting Director of XJS, Mr. Ham Toeur, Director of Central Administration Office, Br. Frederick Ray Popo, S.J., Director of Fe y Alegría, Ms. Yom Sreypov, Finance Manager, Ms. Kristina Velez, Principal of Secondary School, and the Superior of the Northern Jesuit Community, Fr. Greg Priyadi, S.J.
Fr. Greg gave a pleasant opening speech on behalf of Fr. Jinhyuk Park, S.J., the School Director. He shared about how XJS strives to give equal access to education for people from different walks of life. He also shared that through education, our students will be able to make significant contributions to the society where they belong to.
The first half of the event focused on the sharing from our school side. Mr. Toeur shared the story of our school from its establishment up to all our future plans. This was followed by a series of speech from our students.
Han Chhinhly, Grade 12, spoke on how XJS has been helping the students, the students’ parents, and the community through formal education and values formation. Then, Vong Chanmesa, Grade 11, shared on behalf of the 76 scholarship students presently supported by the St. Xavier Student Center. She explained how the center provides opportunity for students who have difficulty in accessing quality education and how it molds students holistically through different youth formation activities for their better future. Somrith Pleva, Grade 10, on the other hand, shared on how the school and the students have been working together in realizing every student’s dream.
After a wonderful chant number from Yorn Dara Tepi, Grade 10, H.E. Dr. Mok Sarom has begun sharing about his personal journey from being a financially-challenged student up to where he is now. He shared about his struggles and the scarce opportunities he used to have from high school up to university and how he worked hard to receive scholarships abroad for further studies. Now, he holds double doctorate degrees in Applied Linguistics and Educational Management from University of Brunei and Srinakharinwirot University in Thailand, respectively. He also highlighted the importance of these five points in aiming a brighter future: clear intention, proficient skills, strong commitment, open to opportunities, and active involvement.
Then, H.E. Heng Seang spoke about the importance of choosing between Science and Social Sciences as a means to getting admitted to whichever university programs our students desire to have in the future. Mr. Tim Vorn, on the other hand, shared about how knowledge, skills, and attitude are pivotal to becoming a holistic person. Lastly, Mr. Chhou Bunroeung encouraged our students to grab every opportunity that comes along their way.
After the program, the visitors gladly toured around the school and offered some wonderful partnership opportunities to develop our school’s STEM program and library resources. The school extends its utmost appreciation to our prestigious visitors for gracing our school with many inspirational thoughts and possible collaborations in the future. XJS wishes everyone a happy and prosperous Khmer New Year!