Senior Farewell Issue 2017

S E N I O R

F A R E W E L L

2017

M r M A R K COOPRIDER a d v i s o r

YIHYUN KWON m a n a g i n g e d i t o r

writers

T I T A P A CHAIYAKITURAJAI editor-in-chief

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THE QUILL

S U R A W U T W I T H AYA R U K S O N a r t - d i r e c t o r

T I TA PA C H A I YA K I T U R A J A I

PAWA N W I R AWA R N

A N V I M E H TA

ALEX NIM-ANONG

P R I S H A K H I M AVAT

JIN HA

A R J AV S A N G H AV I

JANESSA LOOI

N A R A N S U VA R N P R A D I P

TA C H A P O L P O S A P H I WAT

GINO LIN

YIHYUN KWON

T I M K U N O PA S V O R A K U L

HARIPOOM PRASTUCHAI

VICHIDA PHISITKUL

P U M PA N C H AT S U T H I S A M P H AT

CHANARADEE LEELAMENTHEP

PAWA N W I R AWA R N

S AT I D A L I M T R A J I T I

ERICA KIM

photographers

layout designers

S U R AW U T W I T H AYA R U K S O N

S U R AW U T W I T H AYA R U K S O N

PAWAT W I R AWA R N

PA N N S E R M C H A I W O N G

PA N N S E R M C H A I W O N G

P H AT S AW U T A C H A R I YA S O O N T H O R N

N A PA S S O R N W O N G A K K A R A K H U N

PAWA N W I R AWA R N

OUKI NISHIOKA

YUNJU CHO

W E R AW U T W I T H AYA R U K S O N

YUNKYOUNG KIM

editors HARIPOOM PRASUTCHAI YIHYUN KWON JIN HA

SENIOR FAREWELL ‘17

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CONGRAGULATIONS

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THE QUILL

CLASS

OF

2017

SENIOR FAREWELL ‘17

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Over my four years here at ICS, I’ve gained a better understanding of myself, God, and also what true community is.

- Coleman

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SENIOR FAREWELL ‘17

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Fo r s u r e , I ’ l l m i s s a l l t h e t e a c h e r s .

I k n o w p e o p le

h a ve t o ld m e t h a t y o u ’ l l n e v e r f i n d t e a c h e r s l i ke t h i s w h e n y o u go t o c o l le ge . Te a c h e r s r e a l ly c a r e a b o u t their students and try to show that care through edu c a t i o n w h i c h i s k i n d o f h a r d t o d o . I ’ m a l s o go i n g t o m i s s t h e f r i e n d s I ’ ve m a d e h e r e a n d a l s o t h e p e o p le I d o n ’ t k n o w . Yo u k n o w , t h o s e p e o p le y o u s e e b u t you don’t know their names are.

I t h i n k I ’ m t h a n k f u l fo r a l l t h e t e a c h e r s I ’ v e h a d but, in specific, I think Mr. Mark Cooprider because I w a s r e a l ly i m p r e s s e d by t h e w a y h e w a s a b le t o t e a c h s o m e h o w t e a c h s o m e t h i n g h e lov e s b u t a l s o s o m e h o w ge t t h e s t u d e n t s t o lov e w h a t h e lo v e s . I thought that was cool. He’s always very encouragi n g t o h i s s t u d e n t s a n d r e a l ly c a r e s a b o u t t h e m . H e s h o w s ge n u i n e c a r e a n d t a ke s t i m e t o r e a l ly t a l k t o t h e m a n d w o r k w i t h t h e m . A n d , o f c o u r s e , M r . To d d fo r i n t r o d u c i n g m e t o p s y c h o lo g y w h i c h I lov e n o w .

Re m e m b e r t o l a u g h a n d c r y . B o t h a r e n e c e s s a r y .

A s O n e D i r e c t i o n s a y s , l i v e w h i le w e ’ r e y o u n g . J u s t kidding.

- Jade

SENIOR FAREWELL ‘17

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Mr. Mark once presented this rhetorical question in class that’s stuck w i t h m e w i t h m e e ve r y s i n c e : I d e a l s , t o l i ve t h e m o r n o t ? A n d I fe e l l i ke t h i s r e a l ly s u m s u p e ve r y t h i n g t h a t I ’ ve t r i e d t o d i s c ov e r i n t h e p a s t fo u r y e a r s o f my h i g h s c h o o l c a r e e r . T h e r e h a v e b e e n m a ny m o m e n t s w h e r e t h e fe a r o f d i s c o ve r i n g t r u t h a t t h e c o s t o f c h a n ge h e ld m e b a c k f r o m my o w n d e ve lo p m e n t . B u t lo o k i n g b a c k a t t h e j o u r n e y , I t h i n k i t ’ s s a fe t o s a y t h a t my u n c e r t a i n t i e s h a ve a l lo w e d m e t o u n d e r s t a n d t h a t i t ’ s o k a y n o , t h a t I m u s t l i ve o u t w h a t I t r u ly b e l i e ve , e v e n i f t h a t m e a n s d a n c i n g t o a d i f fe r e n t b e a t t h a n e v e r y o n e e l s e .

- Andrea

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SENIOR FAREWELL ‘17

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“I think I've learnt the value of hard work. And Oh. My. Goodness. It's been annoyingly tough. It's so easy to complain about the work load, because, well, ICS is fairly academically rigorous, and work or homework is the only thing people really talk about regularly.

So I’ve definitely joined the number of groaners of procrastinators more than I probably should have in the last four years. But I don’t know, that’s been changing for some reason. Part of it might be attached to my faith, another part of it is just seeing how much better I feel about myself when I do put in the effort. It’s still annoying, but it’s worth it, because I know I’ve done something good or worthwhile and I can feel like I’ve done my best.

Whatever I can call this thing I’m learning, I hope it sticks, because I doubt my workload is going to get any lighter as I head into university.

I’ve gone through most of high school just trying to get my work “done” and “over with,” but I’m finally starting to enjoy the work for the work itself rather than slaving over it.”

- Jana

SENIOR FAREWELL ‘17

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I’ve found home in the street noodles of Bangkok, Thailand, where I was born and raised. I’ve found home in the busy shopping alleys of Taipei, Taiwan where I spent every summer and winter with a family friend in the past. And for the past years, I’ve found my home here at ICS.

After nearly nine years at ICS, I’d like to attribute my success and maturation to the people who have made the place and its community truly my home: my teachers, my friends, and my family.

To all the teachers, thank you for allowing me to be a part of your teaching experience. Because of your genuine care, I was not only able to grow academically, but more importantly, I was able to grow in character.

SENIOR FAREWELL ‘17

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Dear Mr. Mark Cooprider: Many say you’re an optimist. I disagree. You’re one of the special people who is able to see goodness through the brokenness of this world. You know the ugliness. You’ve experienced the tragedies. But you bring out the best in your students. In us. In everyone around you.

And you deliver those precious experiences to us through the work of literature. Thank you.

Dear Mr. Steve, aka Dr. Diva: When we failed to follow lab instructions, you made grumpy faces and scolded us. You made your tests incredibly hard to be renowned the toughest teacher in ICS. When we asked for extra credit, you shooed us away and told us to stop whining like a middle schooler.

But this year, it all changed. You let me rant for minutes, even when you’re not in the mood to listen. You let me complain on and on, even when the complaints aren’t necessarily what you want to hear. You leave your classroom doors always open for my friends and I, even when you’re occupied. You let me phone you late in the night, when I’m having my dilemmas and there is no one else to turn to. Above all else, you care. Thank you for choosing to invest in our lives when you could have easily fulfilled your job as just a teacher and leave, making goodbyes a lot easier than it is.

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Dear Friends, I will never forget my first afternoon eating lunch with the people who are now a part of our ‘Lunch Group’. I remember the exact words Dhvani said to me as my cheeks tensed from fear of being excluded: “Pretty weird, huh? Do you think you can handle us?” She laughed and took a bite of her vegetarian sandwich, which I now steal a bite from all the time.

As I consider my future and attempt to allot a place for each of you in my memory to take with me to the next steps of life, I’ve come to realize that I’ll miss your saltiness. Your ability to get triggered so easily. You specialty in annoying me under any and every circumstance. But most importantly, you allowing me to be me.

SENIOR FAREWELL ‘17

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Dear Family, Thank you for choosing International Community School to be my second home, and thank you for supporting me throughout the years that make the entity of my nine years of beautiful experience.

- Punpun

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SENIOR FAREWELL ‘17

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For the past 6 years, ICS has given me such a great ex-

perience that I never expected when I first came here back in 2011.

Honestly, it was very hard at first to go through the transition from a thai school to an international school because the environment here are totally different. However, I was lucky enough to have such a great friends and teachers that always stayed beside me through all good and bad times. Here at ICS, I am very thankful that I received many opportunities to be able to discover my passion in life and talents, especially music and photography. Once I’m graduated from ICS, which is real soon, I couldn’t describe how much I will miss this place that I called “home”, and all the memories that were written through my six years journey. At this point, I believe it is one of the best decisions that I have ever made to be a part of such a wonderful family, the class of 2017. Will miss you all and keep in touch :)

- To m m y

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SENIOR FAREWELL ‘17

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“Jesus is the answer.”

- Tr i n

SENIOR FAREWELL ‘17

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“After 12 years, I’m finally here. To be honest, I never

thought I would graduate. When I’m gone, don’t miss me too much, ICS was one heck of a ride. I got the opportunity to get to know a lot of different people such as O-am and Nong Bae. This school taught me a lot of things, although I might have faded out during classes from time to time but it’s all good. My best memories are bullying Oam because he’s scared of cats. I learned many valuable lessons at ICS, Oam taught me that if he doesn’t get a girlfriend then no one can because he’s the most handsome man in our school. For me, YaeChan is going to be a millionaire one day because he’s always busy making fake money. All in all, ICS is a place which I will never forget.

My advice to any underclassmen is take Tim’s classes before your senior year! Class of 2017, thanks for the fun times we had, especially during skip day. I got the chance to see Logan and Chammu being very honest. Love you all, but I love my mom more.”

- Peter

SENIOR FAREWELL ‘17

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I would miss my friends and teachers the most. I can’t imagine how my high school life would be w i t h o u t t h e m . A l s o , s c h o o l f o o d w i l l d e f i n i t e ly b e another thing that I’ll miss when I leave ICS because of their unique taste that I couldn’t find it anywhere outside of school.

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- Oam

SENIOR FAREWELL ‘17

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“During my years at ICS, I have gained transferable skills that I can use in the future. I’ve also learned to listen to what others have to say, but never base my decisions off of their words. There’s a difference between being pressured into following the crowd and someone who wants to keep you from messing up. Just be honest and remember, no sugarcoating. Teachers such as Mr. Steve and Mr. Neil have encouraged me to take a firm stance in my career path! Through their ‘sarcastic’ comments, I gained a lot of maturity. I also learned not to pretend in front of them since they know what I’m hiding. Mr, Mark is as well, the friendliest teacher I had ever had. To me, he’s not just a teacher, but also an older friend who I’m comfortable sharing my problems with.”

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- Pat

SENIOR FAREWELL ‘17

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The past few years at ICS has been an amazing time. ICS has taught me countless lessons and the one that stands out is to: always put others before you, we should live out our lives helping those in need of help and put out selfishness aside.

I will never forget the times I had at ICS with my friends and teachers, laughing, crying and cramming together. I will always remember the countless hours i had spent at school working on productions with my fellow techies. I will definitely miss the Class of 2017, who have made my life an amazing experience. I could not have asked for a better class to graduate with and I truly believe the relationships we established as a class is something special. The fact that we will soon graduate and go all over the world has still not hit and it’s hard to believe. I know you guys will do amazing in everything that you do. I hope that all of you will do what you do because you love it and not for anything else.

See you soon on your wedding days, but until then, 보 고싶을거야

”

- Ta e

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SENIOR FAREWELL ‘17

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What is a favorite memory from highschool?

“Sneaking to the front of school to eat Mcdonald’s chicken nuggets on Meatless Mondays and starting to study for exams on the morning of it.”

What is one reason you’re looking foward to graduate?

“I can finally tell people that I’m a legal adult whenever people try to direct me to a nearby elementary school.”

- Sarah

SENIOR FAREWELL ‘17

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In my eleven years at ICS, I’ve gained patience and understanding of love through my teachers and three of my best friends, respectively. The teacher who made the biggest impact on me is Mr. Mark Cooprider. One time, I came to him with a very big problem and he helped calm my anxieties. Mr. Mark has taught me to pray when things are hard even when I don’t feel God is there, and told me to wait in prayer. He said that God wants me to have patience and to trust in Him because He is working no matter what, even though it might seem like nothing is happening. I’ve always reminded myself of this advice, and it has helped me so much.

My best friends have shown me what the true meaning of love is, how to love others, and most importantly, how

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to love myself. I was someone who pushed people away when I start to realise I’m burdening them. One of my best friends once told me, “[We] ask you questions and ask how you’re doing because we care.” Another friend asked me not to distance myself away from her, and the other friend told me, “Best friends go through ups and downs together.” They have shown me that true friends will be there for each other no matter what. They love me in my most broken self. They have never left me or gave up on me. Most importantly, they’re teaching me how to love myself just by looking at the way they care for me.

I’m able to love my best friends back, just like how they love me, and I also get to love others more deeply and more genuinely because of them.

- Jean

SENIOR FAREWELL ‘17

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“Throughout the years at ICS I have really come to know that you are not alone. Whether it is teachers or friends or even people you don’t talk to, there is always someone there for you. Also, one of the most important things you need to know is to make wise choices and find the perfect group of friends. Once you do, there will always be someone who has your back. Friends just like my lunch/break group whom I will never forget. Ever.”

- Mann

SENIOR FAREWELL ‘17

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“I learned how to tie a tie for Capstone.”

- Bill

SENIOR FAREWELL ‘17

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