Taking the Leap
Roxanne Wong
Blue Lake, Meagan Peters ‘18
As a child growing up in Singapore, I had no idea what I want-
ed to be, but I knew it had to be something glamorous and lu-
crative. The one thing I knew I didn’t want to become was a
teacher. My mother was a teacher, and the long hours, draining
days, and constant drama from parents and colleagues wore her
down. The reality of teaching— no glamour, low pay, low status
and very little free time— was apparent to me from a young
age. I was not about that life.
In my freshman year of college, I was leading a youth retreat
when the girls in my group started telling me about a teacher
at their school who was vehemently against Christianity. One
girl was singled out and ridiculed just for raising her hand when
the teacher asked who was Christian. Due to the school being
an international school, it was beyond the reach of any laws
against religious discrimination. As I listened to these girls, I
felt a sudden strong stirring in my heart. If there are teachers there
against God, there should be teachers there for Him, I thought. The
thought gripped me and took hold, and I couldn’t shake it off.
10 Spring 2017
As soon as the retreat ended, I was online, searching for gradu-
ate programs in education.
The complete 180 in my attitude towards teaching made me
realize that God had moved and was calling me on this path. I
started seeking out opportunities to learn more about teaching,
volunteering as a tutor at a children’s home, embarking on a
teaching internship, and intentionally taking education classes.
Then, my senior year came and I started seriously looking at
graduate schools in the US.
One look at the cost of taking the GREs created an overwhelm-
ing cloud of doubt. I had grown up in a low-income single par-
ent household and there was no way I could afford the GREs,
let alone the tuition costs of a master’s program. Feeling com-
pletely confused, I turned to God, surrendering myself to Him.
I’ll go wherever you want me to, Lord. The words came out in a rush,
but I meant them. I knew that I was in the hands of the one who
knew the best plan for me.