Mark Surnin

TGS has taught me to love the world. Love it with all its beauty, wonders, problems and realities. Had I gone to a regular Russian school, I would not have had such an appreciation for the world, such a passion for life, such a desire to give back to it. TGS shaped a decent part of my personality and character by exposing me to vastly different social environments, testing me in unexpected ways. TGS has taught me to live in the present moment and appreciate the details of everyday life, as well as the greater, more abstract concepts. By having an opportunity to converse with global minds such as Hans Rosling and Noam Chomsky, I developed an ability to question the socially accepted perspectives on current and historical events, a skill that could not have been acquired in an environment with a single, unified perspective on everything. Also, TGS has shown me that home and family are not constrained by a location, but are rather a state of being, which can be generated with enough enthusiasm and love. Last, but not least, TGS has taught me the art of travel.

Mark Surnin