Adul Samon was one of 12 boys who, along with their soccer coach, were trapped in a flooded underground cave in Thailand in 2018. Their dramatic rescue was recently made into the film Thirteen Lives, directed by Ron Howard. Adul was instrumental in the rescue effort because, as the only English speaker in the group, he was able to effectively communicate with divers and relay vital information to his teammates, which helped them survive the almost two-week ordeal. He has since immigrated to the United States and is an undergraduate student at Middlebury College.