Finding His Voice: Meet William
Updated: Oct 13
How a Tri-County scholarship helped William find challenge, belonging and the confidence to imagine a future he once could not see.
When William Lim stepped up to the microphone to share his story, the moment itself said something about how far he had come.
“Two years ago I would have been terrified to give this speech,” the Pope John XXIII Regional High School senior told the audience. “So the fact that I’m up here holding a microphone voluntarily is honestly already one of Tri-County’s success stories.”
William’s journey began thousands of miles away in Cambodia. His father was a teenager during the brutal Khmer Rouge regime, when schools were closed, families were torn apart, and millions of people were killed—including his father’s entire family. His father survived, but his education ended before middle school. William’s mother was younger, but she too grew up in the aftermath of the regime. At just ten years old, she sold rice porridge on the street to help support her family, and after tenth grade, her family could no longer afford to send her to school.
William’s parents eventually left Cambodia in pursuit of the American Dream, bringing William to the United States when he was not yet two years old. After moving from state to state as his father found work, the family eventually settled in Butler, New Jersey. There, his parents opened a nail salon, often working 12-hour days to provide for their only son. Their greatest hope was simple: to give William the educational opportunities they never had.
At a recent Tri-County Scholarship Fund event, William shared his family’s remarkable journey—and how education helped him find confidence, belonging and his own voice. Click the video below to watch William share his story in his own voice.
A Note He Never Forgot
William attended public school through sixth grade while his family adjusted to life in a new country. He was learning English, and his parents spoke very little.
One memory from those early years has stayed with him. During his first year of school, William didn’t realize that students were expected to bring their own school supplies. His teacher repeatedly sent notes home—but his parents could not read them. So William continued arriving at school without supplies.
Years later, that note has come to represent something much larger to him: two hardworking parents doing everything they could for their son while trying to navigate an unfamiliar language, school system and country.
Today, the roles have changed. William now helps his parents navigate English-language paperwork, from car registrations and taxes to the countless details of everyday life.
An Opportunity That Changed Everything
By sixth grade, William’s mother knew her son needed something more academically challenging. The family discovered Pope John XXIII Regional High School, but private-school tuition was beyond their reach.
That is where Tri-County Scholarship Fund entered William’s story. With the help of a Tri-County scholarship, William began attending Pope John in seventh grade. The transition was not easy. Emerging from the isolation of the COVID years, William struggled with his English, his confidence and a stutter that made speaking in front of others difficult. Making friends was hard, and at first, he wondered whether he truly belonged.
He also wondered how his Buddhist faith would fit within a Catholic school community. Instead of becoming a barrier, however, faith became part of what helped William find his place. Through classmates, school ministry and Mass, he began learning about Catholic traditions and recognized values that resonated with his own Buddhist upbringing: helping others, respecting the individual and making choices rooted in strong values.
“I’m still Buddhist,” William explained, “but being open to their faith is a big part of how I finally felt like I belonged.”
And once William found that sense of belonging, everything began to change.
Finding His Voice
At Pope John, William discovered both opportunity and challenge. He has taken 15 Advanced Placement classes, built relationships with teachers who know and encourage him, and participated in selective summer programs where he took college courses at NYU and Harvard.
But some of his greatest growth happened outside the classroom. The student who once struggled to speak up deliberately joined the debate and mock trial teams. Public speaking became something he practiced rather than avoided. Gradually, the confidence that once seemed so far out of reach began to grow. And this week, William stood before a room full of people and confidently told them his story.
Now a high school senior, William is applying to colleges including Rice, Georgetown and NYU. He hopes to become the first member of his family to attend a university in America and dreams of one day becoming a lawyer or working in finance. As he reflected on how far he has come, William returned to the memory of that little boy arriving at school without supplies:
“I have come a long way from that kid who showed up to school with no school supplies because nobody could read the note.”
A Dream Fulfilled—and a Future Beginning
After leaving Cambodia, building a new life in America and sacrificing so much for their only son, William's parents wanted most of all to give him the education and opportunities they themselves had been denied. Today, as they watch William prepare for college and imagine a future filled with possibilities, William says they feel that their greatest goal has been accomplished.
William expressed his gratitude to Tri-County not only for the scholarship that made Pope John possible, but also for the experiences and people he has encountered along the way—including professionals whose careers now give him a glimpse of what his own future might hold.
At Tri-County Scholarship Fund, we know that a scholarship can open the door to a school. But William’s story reminds us of everything that can happen once that door opens: challenge, belonging, confidence, opportunity—and ultimately, the courage to find your own voice.
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