Growing up or attending school in the United States, it may be hard for individuals, especially young students, to imagine a life without freedom. They have the ability to make their own decisions, from selecting their daily outfits to deciding what to study and pursue for a professional career. For author Putsata Reang, whose family narrowly escaped the infamous Khmer Rouge—the Cambodian Communist regime in the late 1960s—life was very different as a young child. Ms. Reang will join the Blair community on Tuesday, April 8, to share her story and inspire students to become altruistic leaders for generations to come. 

Eager to join the Blair community, Ms. Reang plans to speak about “the curative power of personal stories,” as she shared in a pre-event interview. She will explore how personal stories can powerfully connect individuals together through highlighting commonalities. 

“Maybe, if we hear another person’s story, we will feel a little more seen, and a little less alone,” says Ms. Reang. “As humans, we’ve lost some of our way. There is so much talk about polarization. I plan to push back on that belief and I plan to recenter the things we have in common, because to me that is the greater human condition.”

As shared on Ms. Reang’s website, at the age of eleven months, Ms. Reang and her family fled war-torn Cambodia in an overcrowded navy vessel before finding refuge at American naval base within the Philippines. More of her stories were then carefully published on pages of her memoir, Ma and Me, which has since gained national attention and praise. 

“Some people were born for their professions. I like to believe I survived for mine,” shares Ms. Reang. “When my family escaped the war in our country, I nearly died at sea in my mother’s arms. But I didn’t. And part of the reason I believe I survived is so I could tell the story not just about war and what it means to survive, but to tell the story about Hope and how for some of us, Hope is intrinsic to who we are. Hope is an action rather than an aspiration.”

On Tuesday, Ms. Reang plans to share even more of her memories with Blair students in person. One such beautiful anecdote is the moment she realized what she would do for the rest of her life. 

“One thing my mother and I did during my first trip to Cambodia was tour the S-21 Museum, which was a former high school the communists turned into a torture prison during the genocide. Nearly 20,000 people died there, including journalists. When I asked our museum guide why the communists targeted journalists, he said: ‘Because they were trying to tell the truth.’ That was the moment I knew I would become a journalist.”

Though Ms. Reang may be too humble to call herself brave and formidable, her stories and insights speak for themselves. For her younger audience, she plans to come prepared with important words of wisdom.

“For students who are uncertain about what potential career path(s) to take, I want to first say: Embrace this uncertainty. You don’t have to know the answers right now or next year. Pay attention to the things you are drawn to and where you spend your free time. That can often give you clues as to what kind of professional path to pursue.” 

All are welcome to hear Ms. Reang speak in the forum of the Chiang-Elghanayan Center next Tuesday at 7 p.m.

History of Skeptics

The Society of Skeptics was established as a forum for students and faculty to discuss and debate important global issues; it has grown to become one of the premier high school lecture series in the United States. Each week, speakers from the political, social, scientific, economic and literary arenas share their unique perspectives with students, who are encouraged to engage with presenters, asking questions and debating points of view.

The program, which is funded in part by the Class of 1968 Society of Skeptics Endowment Fund, is an outgrowth of the Blair International Society, begun in 1937. Forty years later, former history department chair Elliott Trommald, PhD, Hon. ’65, established the modern Skeptics program as a regular forum for student discussion and debate; history teacher Martin Miller, PhD, took over in the mid-1980s and molded the program into a weekly lecture series, one that has since continued without interruption. Under the tutelage of Dr. Miller and his successor, history department chair Jason Beck, Skeptics has featured a wide variety of speakers who are thought-provoking, engaging, accomplished in their respective fields and often controversial. For a listing of upcoming Skeptics programs, please visit Blair’s website.