GIS Influence Helps Student Succeed
During his high school sophomore year, Michael begged his parents to let him move from a nearby closed country to Chiang Mai where he could attend Grace International School and live in a dorm.
“I realized I wanted and needed spiritual mentoring and accountability, though it was hard to leave my family. As an in-residence student, restrictions were tight, and because the dorm parents didn’t know me, I had to earn every privilege,” Michael said.
Grace International School met a need the family didn’t realize they’d had: more social interaction and spiritual input from peers and adults. And since their previous international school wasn’t Christian, there was no spiritual emphasis. That changed dramatically for Michael through his junior year at Grace. Then, for his senior year, Michael’s parents moved to Chiang Mai with their three other teens.
“After GIS graduation in 2009, college was a big transition, since I moved to America from another country. But GIS is academically challenging and prepared me well; and I learned to make friends within any race or age. At college I realized rules that bugged me at GIS weren’t as dumb as I thought at the time. They taught me submission to authority,” Michael said.
Grace teachers continue to influence him, even while he attends college in America. He seeks their input via email and recalls how they spoke truth through their daily lives. And because his parents had prayed for “significant adults to influence their children,” the family agrees GIS is a good choice for all of them.
“Sometimes I think I should have flunked one class my senior year,” Michael said. “Then I wouldn’t have graduated and could have stayed at Grace another year!”
