Class of 2024 Spotlight: Three Questions with Keetah B. 🇨🇦

With their graduation approaching, Class of 2024 Student Keetah B. shares their insights on the tight-knit community at THINK Global School and how the TGS educational model resonates with them, fostering personal growth and self-affirmation. ✨

1) How has being part of a diverse and international community influenced your understanding of different cultures and perspectives?

Prior to TGS, I had already been surrounded by international communities. I’m a third-culture kid, and I’ve only ever attended international schools, so I already knew what it was like to be surrounded by lots of different cultures. Unlike other international schools, we all still live in our home countries at TGS, which allows us to stay connected to where we’re from while also sharing parts of our culture with the community, which is a beautiful thing to be a part of.

The strongest culture shock for me was not a specific culture but rather the TGS culture as a whole. The school is small, and everyone deeply cares for one another, so it was amazing to feel so supported by my peers and educators, especially coming from schools where that was not the norm. TGS has provided me with the opportunity to create long-lasting friendships with people I never would have in any other circumstance, and it has been amazing to feel myself grow through the people I meet. 

2) In what ways has your perception of traditional education changed since attending Think Global School?

I came to TGS because I’ve always craved something a little different with my education. I’m a creative person, but in my old school, I struggled to pay attention in class, I struggled with exams, and I absolutely didn’t enjoy learning in that way. I always had this internal conflict because I knew I was ‘smart’ and I knew I was capable of learning, but my grades didn’t always portray that. That’s why I’m so grateful for TGS. It has allowed me to take control of my education, expand on the knowledge I’m given, and see learning in everything I do. TGS has taught me that the best way to do well academically is if you enjoy what you’re doing, and that is a lesson I will carry with me for the rest of my life.

The transition from traditional education to project-based learning was not easy, but it was definitely worth it. It took me a while to adjust to TGS’ learning style, and unlearn some things from my previous schools. A grade isn’t there to measure intelligence as if it is static, it is there to represent the growth of your learning and what that process looks like for you individually. Everyone learns differently, and the success of a project depends on the knowledge, skills, and effort placed into it rather than your ability to fit another person’s standards of intelligence.

3) Thinking about the various countries and cultures you’ve experienced, is there a specific place you feel strongly connected to? Why?

When I think about all the countries I’ve visited with TGS, I mostly think about who I was at that point in time. Each term has provided me with new experiences and new perspectives, and each term I leave slightly different than I came. I am now halfway through my third year in TGS, and I can’t express enough how much I’ve changed in this time. I’ll forever be grateful for my first term in Botswana and the curious new student I was, taking in everything for the first time. But I’m also incredibly grateful for my latest term in Australia because I am now doing the things I wanted to do when I first came to TGS. Each term has taught me new things, shown me a new way to think, and guided me bit by bit toward the person I want to be, and I’ll forever be grateful for that.