Saipan International School graduates 15

Fifteen students from Saipan International School took their last walk as high school students across Saipan World Resort’s Royal Taga Ballroom and onto the stage as graduating seniors. Dozens of family and friends filled the ballroom on Saturday to witness the students take the next step in their educational journey.

The 2014 graduating class from Saipan’s only international school was composed of Jeane Lucksanawdee Bracken, Hye Ryeong Chun, Julien Florencondia Estopado, DaeGeun Ji, Michael Emil Johnson, Byong Ha Kim, MinSuk Kim, JongSeo Koo, Christopher Flores Lam, James Jung Myung Lim, Clay McCullough-Stearns, Sungbae Park, Kristle Kaye Ogbac Richardson, Chang Hyun Song, and Alex Xie.

Chang Hyun Song was named as the 20th graduating class’ valedictorian. Song, who graduated with an accumulative grade-point-average of 3.84, told his classmates that grades do not reflect who they genuinely are as people and that life experience is what matters.

“Grades do not matter as much as life experience and our parents have lived far, far longer than we have. Parents are smarter than they appear. Listening to their advice helps a lot but the one who decides is you,” he said in his speech. “From now on our decisions will determine our lives and every one we make will entail responsibility.”

At this point of his address the 17-year-old student tore his speech to pieces and drew gasps from the audience.

“I want to get rid of the scripted words and tell you guys what I feel from my heart.”

Song then spoke of the moment that he said became the turning point of his life—when he was diagnosed with pneumothorax in his freshman year of high school.

“At first, I wondered why I should be the one who gets the disease and suffer from it,” he said. “Because of this disease I was stuck in the hospital for about four months, missing my first high school year, and it was not pleasant at all and it was pretty painful because I literally had multiple tubes stuck in my body.”

He said he eventually realized that the difficulty in his life was a stepping stone for him to grow.

“There are always unexpected obstacles in your life and you have to sometimes face them directly and learn to utilize the situation rather than give up,” he told the graduates.

The challenge also taught him that there is always more than one choice and that people must think differently in order to see obstacles as good challenges.

“Facing my own challenges today, not just during the time I had pneumothorax, has really helped me.”

Song thanked his classmates, SIS teachers, family, and the administration for their unconditional love and support for him during high school.

Song is the son of Ki Chul Song and Hyang Mi Kim. He will be flying to England later this year to study at the University of Nottingham.

The class salutatorian, Byong Ha Kim, expressed similar sentiments about closing the last chapter of high school.

Kim, the school’s renowned artist and musician, said he did not have much ambition to study or hone his skills before coming to Saipan. “Saipan was the perfect place for me to grow.”

He added that throughout his time on island he has learned that the most important factor of happy living is people.

The misty-eyed Kim told the graduates, “I realized that after today I will not be able to see you and I am very sad. I have no doubt that every single one of you has the potential to succeed in life. Remain positive even in the harshest of circumstances, because they allow us to become happier individuals.”

Student Council president and fellow graduate Michael Johnson said that Saturday’s commencement ceremony was “long-awaited and a good feeling.” “I think that SIS overall was the fit for me. The class has supported me the whole way and graduating is such a relief.”

SIS Headmaster Dr. Dale Jenkins congratulated the graduates, describing the class as unique “in my experience of over 30 years in education. They have not only succeeded academically, but socially, emotionally, and culturally,” he told the Saipan Tribune. “They have taken over four hours of Advanced Placement examinations and a number of challenges that are much too numerous to mention but it is sufficient to say that these young men and women have certainly earned my respect and I would also think they earned everybody in this audience’s respect.”

The class has distinguished itself outside the classroom as well, Jenkins said. He praised them for the several academic and athletic accolades they garnered over the past four years.

“You [the graduates] have set a standard of behavior that will be very difficult for other people to measure up to,” he said.

Jenkins was joined by board chair Tammy Doty, office manager Mili Saiki, and other faculty and staff at the event.

This year’s graduating class was under the guidance of high school team leader Keith Tessen.