From the desk of Ginger Bell, Director of Family and Alumni Relations:

So, what becomes of our students after graduation from Brook Hill?  What do their futures hold?  I had one of our current students in the cabin before the holidays and he noticed the picture of those first 31 students who enrolled in the NEW Brook Hill School in 1997.  He began asking me about them and seemed so surprised I could provide information on almost each one of them.  Yes, it was almost 20 years ago they crossed our threshold, but once you join the Brook Hill community, it’s hard for us to forget you!  That’s family, right?

And that holds true for day students AND boarding students.  It just may be a little more difficult to keep up with our internationals.  But, it is so gratifying to hear from former students who are now adults and remember Brook Hill fondly.  Case in point…Barlet Gojani, from Kosova, sent a message just two weeks ago.  Kosova was going through such turmoil when a local missionary, Dr. Dick Hurst, began working to bring Barlet to Brook Hill so he could benefit from our academic experience.  It took many arduous trips across a couple of borders for Barlet to be granted a visa to travel to the U.S. and attend our school.  There were so many times we thought he would be here the next week then red tape would dash our hopes.  The Brook Hill community prayed fervently for Barlet to be allowed to come and finally after several months he arrived.  It wasn’t a fairy-tale story once he arrived, the transition was difficult; but Barlet graduated in 2005 and moved on to Baylor where he earned his degree.

It was such a wonderful surprise to hear from him and I thought you might enjoy hearing from him too:

Dear Mrs. Bell and Troy, I hope this message finds your awesome family doing great! Things are going well here in Kosovo; when I got back in 2012, I started working in the private sector but it wasn’t too fruitful so for the past 10 months I have been working for the UN as a Volunteer Project Assistant, and as of two months ago as a Volunteer Project Associate for a municipal pilot project. The work is extremely important and prestigious (I worked directly with the minister of trade and industry, and now I’m working directly with the minister of public administration and the minister of social housing) so I feel quite proud of what I am doing, despite the minimal financial compensation that I am presently getting as a national staff member. How is the Brook Hill family doing? How are Mr. Dement, Mr. Rhoads, Mr. Fletcher?  My parents are doing well, my mom is working in her clinic six days a week and my dad is advising the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare these last three years before he officially retires. My sister Abetare has been married for over a year now and she is expecting to give birth to two TWINS this February!! Zana, my youngest sister is on her 4th year of med school and she is also engaged now and very happy with her fiance. I am still riding solo as it is quite difficult to start a family in Kosovo without a financial foundation first but I will get there (smile emoticon).  Please know that I often think of y’all and I miss you all so much!  Wish you all the very best! I MISS and LOVE Y’ALL!! GO GUARD!!! Barlet