Amy’s Pathway: Finding Her Place in the World

When Amy arrived at Bangkok Patana in Year 9, she was looking for more than a timetable of subjects. She was looking for space.

“I’m not the kind of person who can just sit and do academics all day,” she says. “I like learning outside the classroom. I like doing things that feel real.”

Before Patana, Amy lived in China, an experience that would quietly shape the direction of her future. She later attended a small, trilingual school that required fluency in Mandarin, English and Thai – a demanding environment that, at the time, felt overwhelming. “It was really hard back then,” she admits, “I was frustrated a lot. But now I’m incredibly grateful. It helped so much with the IB, and it helped me understand who I am – being Thai, speaking Thai, English and Mandarin. That sense of identity really matters.”

The transition to Bangkok Patana coincided with the disruption of COVID, when sport and extra-curricular life at her previous school came to a halt. At Bangkok Patana, Amy found the opposite: choice, activity and community. “The amount of opportunities here was amazing,” she says, “I could explore sports, service, drama – everything. It felt balanced.” She threw herself into school life. Amy played football, netball and softball and outside school, took up snowboarding — a sport she follows avidly, inspired by athletes like Chloe Kim and Eileen Gu. “They’re not just incredible athletes,” she says. “They’re so well spoken, so confident, and they move between cultures. That’s really inspiring.”

Service, however, became her anchor. Amy joined Habitat for Humanity in Year 9 and has since gone on to become its president. Over four years, she has taken part in annual build trips to Ayutthaya, helping to construct homes from the ground up. “It’s physical work, you can actually see what you’ve done,” she says, “But people don’t always realise how much happens before that.” Each year, the team raises around THB 200,000 through school fundraisers, sponsorships and outreach. “You’re emailing companies, negotiating, using your network. It’s hard work, but it’s worth it.”

Drama also played a role in shaping her experience. After taking IGCSE Drama, Amy joined the Year 10 production of Bugsy Malone. “It was such a fun way to meet people,” she says, “I made friends in the year above – they became like big sisters to me.”

In the IB Diploma Programme, Amy’s academic interests sharpened. She chose Higher Level Business Management and Mandarin, alongside English, with Standard Level Economics and Mathematics AI. Her future plans reflect both her upbringing and her outlook. “I’m going into supply chain management, manufacturing and sustainability,” she explains. “Some people don’t really know what that means, so I just say it’s about how things are made, sourced and moved around the world.”

The inspiration, she says, comes partly from home. Her father, a software engineer working in sales, introduced her early to the language of business. “We’re very close,” Amy says, “He definitely influenced me. but it was also about finding my own niche.” That niche lies at the intersection of business, economics and global experience. “I grew up around people from everywhere,” she says. “Speaking three languages, understanding global systems – it just felt like the right fit.”

This autumn, Amy will begin her studies in supply chain management at Michigan State University, with plans to spend a study‑abroad year in China. “They even gave me a study abroad scholarship,” she adds, still sounding slightly surprised. As she prepares to leave school, what she will miss most isn’t one single thing. “It’s the friendships, the food, International Day, sports competitions, Tiger Spirit Day,” she says. “All the little things.”

More than anything, she values the sense of belonging. “Patana doesn’t end at graduation,” Amy reflects. “It goes on through alumni, through community. That’s something I’ll carry with me for a long time.”