Introduction to student (My First Written Assignment in US class)

Born into a modest-background family in a small rural village in the northern part of Cambodia, I was as simple as other country boys in the village, not going to school and having no chance to enjoy a civilized lifestyle. However, at the age of 5, my father, who originally came from a neighboring province and who was a high school teacher of Math and Physics, took my mom and me to live in his hometown. We moved there in 1996. Arriving at the new place, I had a chance to go to school, and that was the starting point of my life, a life which provides me with education.

My father, as he is passionate about learning, pursued his study as an English teacher trainee in the town center as soon as we moved in to his hometown. He had to move away from us for three years. He came to see us only once a week during the weekend. My mother owned a small clothe shop, and she played a role as a breadwinner while my father was in the pursuit of his study. Every day, after class, I had to help my mother at the shop; I guarded the shop so that my mom could go do the household chores. In 1999, my father completed his study and moved back to live with us, and that moment was the time when I started to learn English. My younger brother Dararath, 4 years of age at that time, also started to learn English with me. However, as he was too young, my father decided that my younger brother should wait until he was old enough to study English, so I was the only boy who could speak English in the village. Nowadays, he, my younger brother, goes to two universities simultaneously as I do, majoring in engineering and education. In 2003, my youngest brother, Sophearith, was born. He is currently a primary school student. He is smart and keen on learning new things. He is good at math, literature and painting. He wants to be architecture when growing up.

I received my Bachelor degree in the field of education (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) from the Institute of Foreign Languages of the Royal University of Phnom Penh in October 2013. And I am also a fifth year student majoring in Rural Engineering at the Institute of Technology of Cambodia (ITC). Rural engineering consists of water resource, infrastructure and environmental fields of study. My passion to pursue this major dates back to ten years ago when I lived in the countryside.

In Cambodia, a large number of people in rural areas are farmers.  They depend heavily on farming. They plant rice and grow crops for survival, but the products they produced are not enough for them to support their living.  The problem is that there is a lack of irrigation systems that could enable them to use water for planting their crops, roads they could transport their products to markets, and most importantly knowledge of how to use the water resource they have effectively.  In the rainy season, there is an excessive amount of water, so they are not able to work on their farms whereas in the dry season there is not enough water for planting rice and growing crops. Seeing the potential in this area, along with my talent and keenness in learning scientific subjects, I have developed my interest in helping my country by trying to study hard and enrolling as a rural engineer at the Institute of Technology of Cambodia.

During my undergraduate at ITC, I have learnt many subjects related to engineering, and the branch of engineering that most captivates my interest is hydraulic structure and environmental engineering. As mentioned earlier, I was born in a rural village; therefore I have a lot of chances to witness how those peasants live by just relying on the nature. If lucky, there is enough rain for them to do farming. However, they cannot depend on nature because it keeps changing all the time, and hence the best way to help those people dealing with this issue, human resource in this field is needed, and this is the reason why I pursue my study in this subject.

            Besides studying in class, I have been to Japan twice. I have been awarded two scholarships to go on exchange programs. The first time I was awarded was in summer (August) 2012. ITC sent me to participate in an event called The World Youth Meeting 2012, which was celebrated at Nihon Fukushi University, Aichi, Japan. There were many students of different cultural backgrounds participating in that event. I have learnt many things during my exposure in that events, five of which I think are of most importance are (1) cultural exchange, (2) conflict resolution, (3) collaboration, (4) confidence, and last but not least (5) friendship. Four months later, in winter, I was granted another scholarship to go on a study tour in Japan again to learn about natural disaster prevention and reconstruction after the Japan Great East Earthquake and Tsunami. And now, I am fortunate enough to be awarded a scholarship sponsored by the U.S Department of State to study Environmental engineering as a one-semester exchange student at Florida Gulf Coast University, where many professors specialized in the field of engineering gather. I hope that my stay in the U.S will enable me to grow wiser, either academically or personally. 

            Since I am the fifth year student, I will graduate soon, around July this year. As the graduation day approaches, I am considering applying for a Master’s degree in the related fields of study, either civil engineering (hydraulic structure or civil) or water resource engineering or environmental engineering. My dream is not just completing a Master’s degree but also a Ph.D one, if I am provided a chance. I have visualized that if I pursue a career as a teacher at university level and working as a researcher at the same time, I will be able to make a valuable contribution to my country, for Cambodia is in a dire need of human resource in this field.

            During my spare time, I like playing sports such as soccer, volleyball, and swimming. I could swim since I was at the age of eight. My father was my instructor, a very good instructor. It was awesome to have two rivers in the neighborhood so that I could swim almost every single day, if not all. As I remember, during my first swimming lesson, my stomach was filled with water and air. Yep, I know everyone experiences it when they first learn how to swim. For soccer, I learned how to play it since I was in grade five (10 or 11 years of age), yet I am still not a good player. And at the age of 18, I started to play volleyball. In addition to sport, I like writing stories in English and taking photos to post them in my blog; the website is www.uksovannara.blogspot.com .

            Finally, I am really excited to take courses at Florida Gulf Coast University, and I am really glad to have enrolled in one of your classes. Challenges accepted!!!