Christ Moo's story is unlike any other of our scholar-athletes.  The senior at St. Francis was born in a refugee camp in Thailand and where his parents had moved after fleeing persecution in Burma.  

When he was seven, Catholic Charities helped move the family to America.

Christ says it was quite an adjustment.

"When I first moved to Lousiville there was no one in our neighborhood. We were just a family there alone. We couldn't communicate well at all."

The culture shock was intense.

Christ added, "We didn't know we could change the thermostat in our house so we didn't use it, even in winter. I remember having to wear three layers of jackets and pants to keep myself warm."

But Christ persevered, spending hours every day to learn the language and the lifestyle. At St. Francis he's on the tennis, soccer, and dance teams — but always put academics first, on his way to a 4.1 GPA.

Benjamin Studevent, Christ's AP Physics teacher says, "He took that class which is a calculus-based class, being only in pre-calculus at the time. So he had to learn every single bit of calculus that he would need for the class in the class itself. That speaks to his ability to take on a challenge and rise to the occasion time and time again."

Christ wants to study bioengineering in college to learn to build prosthetics for refugees.

He says, "I want to make my parents proud for sacrificing their life and the way they're living in Thailand to come here and start new. Clean slate with no money, no understanding of the American culture, no ability to speak the language. I just want to make them proud."

Tennis coach Matt Taylor says he has. "When you talk about heroes, Christ is a type of hero. When we look at on another, we have to look at the humanity and the value of those individuals and what they've had to overcome. He sets an example for so many different things and because of that, I admire him to the utmost. I really do."

Christ Moo is an inspirational reminder that anything is possible.