SET was established in 1994 originally to help just one student attend university. Seckson’s parents were too impoverished to pay his fees. With SET support, Seckson studied for a Bachelor degree in Physics but was later also part-supported during his studies for a Master and then a PhD. Dr Seckson is now director of the Institute of Fundamental Studies at a leading Thai university. In 2014, Dr Seckson joined SET trustees to present landmark scholarship number 5000 to a first-year high school student.

Like many SET scholarship students, Natchaya has done very well in her career. She was first awarded a scholarship at the end of her third year of school. Her parents were having a difficult time financially and it was likely Natchaya would have to drop out of school to find work. With her SET scholarship she was able to finish school and then study for a degree in Public Administration. She finished her studies in 2010 with perfect grades and immediately found employment in local government administration. She later applied for an important position as deputy governor of a provincial district. She competed against 900 applicants – and got the job.

In 1998, Mr Sievert visited SET’s founder Peter Robinson (then Phra Peter Pannapadipo) to offer financial support to SET. During that first visit to Phra Peter’s monastery, Mr Larsson met 18-year-old Phisarn, who was living as a temple boy there. Phisarn was about to start his university studies for a degree in Political Science. Mr Larsson was impressed with Phisarn and the work that SET was doing and he soon became the foundation’s major sponsor. Later, he became SET’s chairman. Phisarn went on to complete his Bachelor, Master and PhD degrees and is now head of the Political Science Department of a university. In 2016, after completing his PhD, Dr Phisarn met with Mr Sievert and the other SET trustes to personally thank them for their 18 years of support. In 2017, Dr Phisarn became a trustee of The SET Foundation.