Nawbee Hla's ePortfolio

(2014) Angelina Jolie is with two Karenni women who are dressed in traditional garments, including rings around their knees and ankles, metal bracelets and earrings, and a one-shoulder black clothing piece.

My ethnicity is Karenni, Kayah. It's one of Burma's 135 distinct ethnic groups. Some other major ethnic groups include but are not limited to Barmar, Shan, Karen, Chin, Mon, Rakhine, and Kachin.

My family and I are first-generation immigrants and former refugees. I was born in a refugee camp on the Thai/Burma border and the rest of my family were born in Burma. We immigrated to the U.S. in 2009.

Being Karenni-American, a first-generation college student, and a 1.5-generation immigrant are all important identities of who I am.

I graduated from North Central High School in 2020 and started college at IUPUI in the Fall of 2021. I absolutely love studying Sociology because it's given me the language, I need to make sense of my lived experiences in the society in which I live. Through a sociological lens, I'm able to learn about myself in relation to the social groups I belong to; Asian, college student, woman, etc.

I would like to use this section to bring awareness to what's happening in Myanmar (Burma). Since gaining independence from Great Britain in 1948, internal conflict between Myanmar's government/military and various ethnic minorities has been ongoing. As a result of the war violence, thousands, if not millions of people are internally displaced (IDPs) or refugees.

My family and many other Karenni people had to flee their village during a 1996 offensive attack. They made their way to the Thai border on foot, running from armed soldiers, walking through landmines, hiding in the jungles, and facing a lack of food and medical supplies.

On February 1st, 2021, the Tatmadaw (Myanmar's military) took over, and the country is in a state of emergency.

My Experiences and Skills

Volunteer work

Growing up, I was a part of the Burmese Community Center for Education (BCCE) program. Their mission was to empower and advocate for newly resettled Burmese refugee immigrants through educational and various other programs. It was instilled in me early on that education is a privilege.

I volunteered as a tutor/mentor for kids younger than me. My peers and I made lesson plans for summer and winter programs, helped students with their homework after school, and involved kids with physical activities to keep them moving.

I gained leadership skills, patience, and organization skills during my time with BCCE.

Job

I held many odd restaurant jobs as a server, dishwasher, cashier, and everything in between. All those positions taught me the importance of hard work and teamwork. In order for a restaurant to run efficiently, everybody has to pull their own weight, and if one person doesn't do their job then it can cause confusion and tension between the workers and the customers too.

First-gen Immigrant kid

(me in the orange jacket)

I'm bilingual, I speak both Karenni (Kayah), and English. Growing up as a bilingual and first-generation immigrant kid, I assumed the role of a language broker for my family. I interpreted at the bank and in hospital rooms (ERs, ICUs, appointments). I also filled out numerous forms and applications for others. Those experiences have been challenging because I took on a lot of adult responsibilities as a kid. But those same experiences have also taught me empathy, how to manage my emotions, and decision-making skills.

Teamwork

my current strengths as a team member

Adaptable
Reliable
Resilient

As a team member, it's important to understand that your position or role has good or bad effects on the bigger picture.

Both my work and personal experiences in life have taught be adaptable to new things that come up, cause change is always a thing. I am reliable as a team member because I can be counted on to do my part of the job. And I am resilient because I had to be due to life circumstances, I can remain collected through difficulties.

my growing strength as a team member

Teachable
Flexible
Having a positive attitude

Throughout my time at the internship, I was teachable, flexible, and easy to work with as a team member. I came into this internship with no knowledge of what and how research is conducted and had never worked in a professional job.

Over the course of the year, I truly understood what working in a team means. I have grown in my role as a team member by attending lab meetings, weekly check-ins, and staying updated or updating others on the team. As a professional, I still have much room for growth and areas of improvement.