Climbing New Mountains

By Mary Htoo, with Natalie Romero

As I prepared to enroll in spring quarter classes at La Sierra University, my mental checklist went something like this:

Academic scholarship? Check.
Two on-campus jobs? Got ‘em.
Matching grant from last summer’s literature evangelist earnings? Locked-in.

It looked good at first glance, but there were some items that I couldn’t quite cross off the list. I still needed an off-campus job. I still had debts from winter quarter. And there wasn’t enough money to cover my spring tuition.

I wasn’t sure how to make ends meet, but if I could just finish the details of my financial aid package, then maybe…

Enter COVID-19

My world was turned upside down in a matter of days. La Sierra was shut down to help stop the spread of the disease, which meant my campus housing was no longer an option. I had to go home to Utica, New York with what little means I had, and no promise of continued employment. At home, everything was in lockdown too. I had to adjust to online learning in a different time zone—all while worried sick about whether or not my finances could make it work.

This isn’t the first time I’ve had to face challenges. I was born into them—literally! A few years after I was born, my family and I were sent to a Thai refugee camp. My lineage is of the Karen people, an ethnolinguistic group that has faced persecution in Myanmar; my parents escaped this persecution, searching for a better life. Nothing has ever been easy for us, but determination and perseverance are in my blood. We emigrated to the United States when I was seven years old.

When I went back to Utica after the campus closure, money was already tight. And without the help of my on-campus jobs, I found myself facing a new set of obstacles. My mental checklist was now overflowing, and I had no idea how to start climbing these new mountains.

Tuition?
Textbooks?
Reliable internet access?
Everyday essentials?

But La Sierra didn’t leave me in the lurch. Thanks to various donors who support the Emergency Student Aid Fund, I was able to cross that unexpected mountain range and stay enrolled in the classes I need to keep me on track. Receiving that help made a huge difference in my life. Knowing that people care enough about the value of education to make an investment in me and others like me is a feeling I can’t describe. And in this not-so-normal time, it is a blessing to be a normal student without the former burdens of financial stress.

When we get back to campus, I’ll get to fulfill my role as the 2020-2021 SALSU social vice president and coordinate our first student events. I’ll get to continue my classes in person, in the same time-zone as my teachers and peers, and work to complete my degree in International Business. I hope to bring Karen culture to the world, and I know I’m already on my way there thanks to La Sierra.