Tirhas attended GVP from 2015 to 2017. After GVP she went to Clarkston High School and earned her high school diploma. She is currently at Georgia State University studying computer science and will soon graduate with an Associate’s Degree. She is planning to go to Georgia State or Kennesaw University to earn her Bachelor’s Degree. In the future Tirhas wants to work with Apple or Microsoft.

Tirhas is Eritrean, but grew up in Ethiopia. She went to school there up to sixth grade, then had to quit school for two years. Because she had some English classes previously, she knew how to read and write, but it was hard to speak English.

“I loved GVP! I always say thank God for letting me go to GVP because in one year we’d go to a lot of places on field trips. We went to Savannah; that was my favorite part. On the Savannah field trip, there was a fire–we put marshmallows and chocolate and cookies and we used to sing. At night time we went to the ocean to learn about the planets and the ocean. The air and the wind was so good. I will never forget that. It was so amazing! At GVP, I feel like we were sisters. We come from different worlds, maybe we look different, but we had big dreams. GVP is the place where I learned new things and new ideas, so I feel like it is home.”