My name is TIN, Srey Orn, and I am 21 years old. I was born in a rural area in Varin District, Siem Reap Province. I moved to live in Siem Reap to continue my studies. I am the oldest child amongst three siblings. My parents are farmers; they spend most of their time working in the field. They earn a small amount of money from selling rice and cassava. I really love my family; however, they didn’t have enough resources and money to support my studies growing up, but they always motivated me to continue studying until I finished grade 12. We never stayed together as a family with my parents because they had migrated to work in Thailand for a long time. But when they came back, I had to leave them due to my studies.
I graduated in 2020 from Varin High School, and I was moving to live in the city, in Siem Reap to continue my studies. My family really wanted me to finish my studies at university, but they could not support it. Fortunately, for the first year they could support me, as I was taking online class due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and during this time, I was a learning center student in one NGO, PEPY Empowering Youth. In the next year, in 2022, I competed for scholarships to continue my studies at the university with another NGO (South-East Asia Foundation), which is a partner of PEPY. I got a scholarship from PEPY’s partner.
During my studies, I was also working as a volunteer for PEPY Empowering Youth. I worked as an English teacher assistant for almost one year. I learned so many things: I built my English, communication, and leadership skills; I understood the working process; I improved my teaching skills; and I met new people inside and outside. Before, I never thought I wanted to be an English teacher. I do not love teaching, but I changed my mind after I started working as an English teacher assistant. Therefore, working as an English teacher is very important for my country because, in rural areas, not many English teachers provide for local students. I was so excited and proud when I was teaching and sharing my knowledge and experience with the younger generation. especially for people who come from rural areas and poor families.
All in all, working as an English teacher at REACH Siem Reap is my first full-time job. I am glad and delighted to bring all my knowledge, my experience, and my energy here and to be a role model for students. I believe that “Quality Education Will Change Our Life” and “Do What You Love and Love What You Do”.
