In Sam Pring’s household, there are implicit expectations: that children respect their elders and that they work hard to achieve the better life that their parents have made possible for them. Sam, like his identical twin brother, Dan, is first generation Cambodian. In his Senior Reflection, Sam talked about his roots—his great-grandmother who left China for Vietnam but landed in Cambodia, where she met Sam’s future great-grandfather. He spoke fondly of his grandparents while employing his characteristic sense of humor. “My grandfather speaks a little Vietnamese, but only to females,” he said, to audience laughter.
Sam said he doesn’t like hearing children talking back to, or worse, swear at their parents, as “respect is the most important thing we are taught. We even have to say ‘hello’ to an elder the correct way, which is different from saying ‘hello’ to someone our age,” he explained. And when Sam sees “kids on TV saying they hate their parents,” he is shocked. “We would never say that about our parents,” he declared. Cambodian children are taught to eat everything they are served, he continued. The “food pyramid” he is most used to, he added with a smile, “is rice, rice, and rice,” though in an interview after his reflection he noted that his mother now makes spaghetti sometimes after repeated requests from her children.
Lowell, where Sam and his family live, is home to more Cambodian residents—about six percent of the population—than any other city in Massachusetts, he said, and it is the second most Cambodian populated city in the U.S. behind Long Beach, CA. His family settled in Massachusetts to have more opportunities, which Sam, Dan, and their younger sister, Alyssa, continue to appreciate. “They want us to have a better life,” and one that includes a good education, he said.
At Fenn, Sam is on the soccer, basketball, and track teams, and he plays oboe and sax in the Fenn Band. He serves as a Peer Advocate and tour guide, and this year he is particularly proud that he and Sam Farley were elected their class senators after running together every year since the fourth grade. Biology is Sam’s favorite subject and, an animal-lover, he hopes to become a veterinarian.
In his down time, Sam loves to read, particularly fantasy and adventure books, and to play video games. Having an identical twin means that “someone is always there for me,” he said. When he graduates, Sam will miss “how nice my teachers are” and experiences such as the ninth grade trip to Camp Caribou, “where we got to know each other well.” How would Sam like to be remembered at Fenn? “As a fun person who helped the community,” he said.