In 2017, the first of Saving Susan Ministry’s Parent-Partnered children graduated from high school - Sona, Sopheak, and Pov. With this, our Next Steps Program was launched, with these three students entering college on Baskin-Bowler Scholarships, a scholarship named in honor of Pastors Jack Baskin and Craig Bowler. Sona, Pov, and Sopheak are pioneers for the program and have been shining examples of hard work and determination to the (now 12) Next Steps students, both in Cambodia and Guatemala. Sona and Pov are attending medical school and have four years still to go, while Sopheak is closing in on her four-year degree in Teaching from Royal University in Phnom Penh.

Sopheak was raised at the Bileg Solid Rock children’s home in Cambodia and dreamed of attending college to become a teacher. Tracy Arntzen had the opportunity to take Sopheak on visits to a few different colleges while she was in-country and helped Sopheak find the right fit for her. While the transition from the children’s home to a more independent setting was difficult, Sopheak, with the support of many, including Dr. and Mrs. Castro, Parent Partners Jen and Ben Lalande and the SSM staff, persevered through the challenges, including a global pandemic and will be our first student to graduate from University when she receives her diploma this summer!

Sopheak is exploring her future options and praying about attending law school next. We are incredibly proud of Sopheak’s hard work and positive attitude and are grateful for those who came alongside her, including a local teacher here who helped fund her education! Congratulations Sopheak, we are so incredibly proud of you and look forward to seeing where God leads you next!

We still have a few students in our Next Steps Program who need sponsoring. If you are interested, please visit www.savingsusanministry.org/next-steps to read about them and the area they are studying!