For some Concordians, though, school just never ends, whether they are on the receiving or giving end of the educational process. Last week, I highlighted the CCHS Environmental Field Studies Group, led by biology teachers Priscilla Guiney and Nora Murphy, who guide a group of students interested in the preservation of natural resources. Today's post traverses several time zones to Southwest China to highlight the academic endeavors of Caitlin Moss.

Even before Caitlin graduated as an honor student from CCHS in 2007, she took advantage of international study opportunities, including a summer in Ireland. As a government student at Georgetown University, Caitlin became intrigued and then immersed herself in the study of Mandarin and overseas study programs that the school offered. She learned to speak Mandarin so well, that while an exchange student in China, she was selected to present a speech to Beijing classmates in their native language.

Caitlin returned to D.C. to prepare a 146-page honors thesis on how print media in mainland China and Taiwan is used in efforts towards democracy. Caitlin was inducted into the prestigious Phi Beta Kappa Society and received her degree in May, graduating in the top 3 percent of her class and receiving the top prize in International Relations Studies.

Despite her impressive credentials, her father, John Moss, said the corporate world was not banging down her door. She was further discouraged as she watched many of her friends and roommates lap up lucrative corporate offers.

"I told her, maybe that's not where you're supposed to be," John said.

John, and his wife Ellen Boyce, love to talk about their children and will carry on and on about them, as Caitlin and her brother Will provide them plenty of material to circulate. Personally, I think bragging about one's children is the best gratification a parent can have.

Well, like that old TV show, Father Knows Best, John was right. An opportunity far from corporate America awaited Caitlin, and after graduation, she boarded a flight back to China. Caitlin had been selected to enter a training program to learn to teach within the Chinese educational system. The program, under the umbrella of Teach for America, aims to improve the quality of public education in low-income communities.

Caitlin now works in the Yunnan Province of Southwest China, which borders Laos, Burma and Vietnam. The children she teaches there are very poor, and the conditions are inferior to those of Concord and many areas of the United States. For instance, lunch is the same menu every day, and parents don't flock together to organize a school party or upgrade the playground, and toilets are considered an unheard of luxury.

Caitlin is making headway with her students, though, and as all excellent teachers say, she is learning as much from them as they from her. Her blog is filled with posts that are moving, funny and educational. I was especially touched about her efforts to reach a troubled student, and what she learned in the process. You will certainly enjoy reading about Caitlin's experiences in China, too.

Remembering 9/11

Undoubtedly, your September calendar is filling up even before the month begins. If you haven't already, I encourage you to save room to commemorate the 10-year anniversary of Sept. 11. As you may know, Concordian Al Filipov, a peace-loving man, was killed in the catastrophe of American Airlines Flight 11. His family and fellow worshippers of the Trinitarian Congregational Church founded the Al Filipov Peace & Justice Forum. Each anniversary of 9/11, the forum hosts lectures and programs in Al's honor.

This year, his wife Loretta said, the program has been elongated to celebrate the passing decade. The guest speaker is Rev. Dr. James A. Forbes, Jr., president and founder of Healing of the Nations Foundation and Senior Minister Emeritus of the Riverside Church in NYC.

Dr. Forbes will speak on Sept. 15, following an Interfaith Community Prayer Breakfast at the church, located at 54 Walden St. The program begins at 7:30 a.m. and will conclude at 9 a.m. Advance tickets may be purchased at the church or by calling 978-369-4837. Tickets are $10 each. The forum will offer a week-long host of programs. Patch will keep you abreast of the details of this memorial event, so be sure to patch in.