Class of 2024 Spotlight: Three Questions with Sigurd R. 🇳🇴

A native of Norway 🇳🇴 and now a resident of Vietnam 🇻🇳, Class of ’24 Student Sigurd R. will soon head to Greece 🇬🇷 for his final term at THINK Global School before he crosses the stage at graduation.

Since joining TGS in 2022, Sigurd has seized the opportunity to immerse himself in the cultures of Botswana, India, South Korea, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Australia, Japan, and Greece, gaining valuable insights into each.

1) Hi Sigurd, can you tell us how TGS prepared you for the future?

TGS encourages a greater understanding of self, one’s passions, interests, and values. Paradoxically, it simultaneously encourages the challenge of the idea of self. It has taught me who I think I am while telling me I will never fully know who I am.

This breaking down and reconstruction of the self is a process of life that will repeat over and over again, but being used to such learning is immensely valuable. Rather than being fearful and hesitant about my own identity, I have learned to revel in the uncomfortability that such introspection brings forward. I will never truly know who I am, which is entirely fine. I believe this way of thinking has prepared me most for future life, as it provides a positive way of considering life.

2) How has your view of traditional education changed since attending TGS?

Before finding TGS, I had not given much consideration to non-traditional education systems. I already excelled in and enjoyed traditional education and was content to continue. However, there was a particular draw to TGS; the ability to travel while learning sounded amazing, and project-based learning would be a new challenge for me. Since then, I have found the ambition and independence within TGS to be refreshing. I have seen the countless opportunities and possibilities that life offers, which I would not have been able to consider if I were in a traditional school. 

3) Can you share how will you apply TGS’s global perspectives and skills in your future endeavors?

TGS provides a different type of learning than traditional schools. There is a certain expectation of maturity and a limitless range of learning. You are not limited in your learning by a syllabus or the pace of a class. It is this mindset of freedom that I wish to continue to foster in my future life.

While pursuing further education, I will continue to try things most may consider outrageous or wishful thinking, as I have seen them done in TGS. In addition to this mindset, the practical skills of planning and time management will also stick with me.