Srinagarindra - Nursing Student

Nursing Student

Sangwal enrolled as a student of Siriraj School for Midwifery and Nursing in 1913, when she was just thirteen. She was two years under the minimum age requirement, but her qualifications more than made up for her age and the school was able to overlook this discrepancy. She was a scholarship student, and on accepting the fifteen baht monthly for her expenses, she had agreed to work for the hospital for three years, the same number of years she would spend at the nursing school. Upon graduation in 1916, she joined the nursing team at the hospital.

In the following year, Prince Rangsit Prayursakdi, the Prince of Chainat (son of King Chulalongkorn and adopted son of Queen Savang Vadhana, half-brother of Princess Valaya Alongkorn and Prince Mahidol Adulyadej), director of the Royal Medical College of Siriraj Hospital, designated two doctors and two nurses to further their studies in the United States. These scholarship students were expected to return to teach future generations of medical students and advance the medical profession in Thailand. The medical scholarships were provided by Prince Mahidol Adulyadej and a first-year student at Harvard Medical School, while the nursing scholarships were provided by his mother, Queen Savang Vadhana. One of the two nurses selected was Sangwal herself. Her preparations for this trip included a six-month intensive English couse with Miss Edna Sarah Cole, headmistress of Kullasatri Wang Lang School for girls (later to become Wattana Wittaya Academy).

For her passport, she also needed a surname, the use of which was not a regular practice in Thailand until 1913, during the reign of King Vajiravudh (Rama VI). Since her father was dead, she took on the surname of Lee Talabhat, who was in the service of Prince Mahidol Adulyadej. Her surviving younger brother registered himself as Thomya Chukramol.

Sangwal Talabhat left Bangkok on 13 August 1917 on the ship Kuala with almost twenty other Thai students. The trip took them to Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, Hawaii, and after six weeks, the group reached San Francisco. From there, she went to live with an American family, the Adamsens of Berkeley, for a year, attending Emerson School with her friend Ubol Palakawongse na Ayudhya, a member of the nobility. She also attended Sunday school to learn the ways of the Christian faith.

In 1918, they joined eight other Thai students travelling to Boston, Massachusetts. As the train drew into Boston station on 21 September 1918, Prince Mahidol was waiting to welcome them, though Sangwal had no idea who he was. Furthermore, she had no idea that her presence had already made an impact on the young prince, who, according to his roommate, Pradit Sukhum (later Lord (Luang) Sukhum Nayapradit), arrived home after two o'clock in the morning, shook him awake saying:

Prince Mahidol Adulyadej had arranged for the girls to stay with the Armstrong family in Hartford, Connecticut, and to attend North Western Grammar School to perfect their English reading, writing, and speaking skills. During this time, Prince Mahidol maintained close interest in Sangwal’s development, making frequent visits to Hartford. Their strolls in the park to observe the flowers reflected Sangwal’s lifelong love of plants and concern for the natural environment.