Cat '17, Cullman Scholar in Cambodia

Through the Cullman Scholarship Program and the generosity of the Cullman family, select juniors and seniors are awarded grants to travel throughout the world on independent learning programs. Any rising junior or senior is eligible to apply for one of the scholarships. Recently, the community heard from Cat ’17 about her experience.
 
“This summer I had the amazing opportunity to travel to Cambodia to learn about the country’s rich history and teach at three different schools that are part of an organization called Buddhism for Social Development Action.” Of her time in the capital city, Cat recalls, “Phenom Pehm is an impoverished yet lively city, the streets are filled with motor bikes, cars, and tuk tuks travelling on any side of the road at whichever speed they please. I visited the royal palace where I learned about the current political dilemma at hand; the new king is a practicing monk and as a part of his practice, he must be celibate. However, because he is the king, he must produce and heir to the throne. So the question at hand is whether he should remain true to his faith or true to the structure of Cambodian politics.” 
 
From Phenom Pehm, Cat travelled to the village of Kampong Cham, where she spent most of her time, “I worked at three different schools that are part of a Buddhist organization that strives to empower children through means of education.” The Rice Field School, a cooking school that prepared its students to work in the local restaurant appropriately named, Smile; The Happy Happy Center, a daycare for small children that Cat describes as, “a chaotic free-for-all filled with giggles, hugs, and games,” where “the main goal was to teach the children how to wash their hands”; and finally, the MKK school “a mixture between a dancing school and a daycare” where Cat’s group “mixed cement in order to rebuild the school’s bathroom.”
 
Of her trip, Cat recalls, “I can’t even begin to explain it but it was just something so powerful, that was so beyond me, and I just felt this overwhelming sense of what I guess you could call enlightenment.” “A typical Cambodian phrase that was used in even the most senseless of times comes to mind when I think about my experience; Same, same, but different. Even though I’m still the same girl, who goes to the same school, and does the same things that I did before my trip, I see things with a new pair of eyes. Everything is same, same, but different. I would like to thank the Cullman family for giving me this opportunity and I would encourage every sophomore and junior to apply for a Cullman Scholarship because it is the gateway to a life-changing opportunity.”
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