On Wednesday November 11, 2020 we had the pleasure of a classification speech by new (returning) member Sambath Ouk. Sam is an experienced speaker with a fascinating life story. It is one of hope, and he tells it well. Sam was a refugee coming to America at the age of 2. He spoke of his life as a young refugee and the families that helped him along the way. He traveled here with his mother and grandparents. It was a hard life, he experienced poverty and racism.
Hope – he says is what got him through. As a youth in the Rochester MN area he became involved with gangs. His school was extremely segregated, and gangs were forming all over Rochester. After a conversation with a teacher, Sam started changing the groups he joined. He belonged to multiple groups that helped him move forward in high school with a job and his studies. He belonged to a unity group that made racial justice “cool”.
Sam learned how important it was to find common ground in any situation, and he excels at that practice now in life. The Rotary model of Service Above Self is one of Sam’s favorites. He has set the bar high for the rest of us to follow his examples of the 4-way test.
Welcome back Sambath, we are looking forward to your leadership in Rotary, and the community!
