As a refugee, his English skills were brand new and school for the 12-year-old was a challenge.

“My friends were doing their jobs,” Thang said, “but I was just drawing because I didn’t understand English.”

In high school, Thang found a program offered by the Burmese American Community Institute to help him with his homework and questions about his future. What his parents would do, if they could, he said.

“We didn’t know going to college, college application, essay and those things, it was one of the only organizations that was there to help,” Thang said.

The first member of his family to attend college, Thang went to Indiana University. He returned to programming at BACI shortly after leaving.

The mentee is now the mentor, and he is not the only one. More than half of BACI’s current mentors are former mentees of the program.

Thang now sits with students in a Southport High School classroom on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, where he and mentees review assignments, talk about goals and learn college-readiness skills.

The program also hosts after-school sessions at Perry Meridian High School on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays.

“It’s just a really good community to work with because we’re all so close to each other,” Thang said.

Like Thang, Burmese Hoosiers who have spent half or more of their lives in the United States face a number of obstacles when adapting, said Elaisa Vahnie, the institute’s executive director.

Over the past decade, they have sought to reduce achievement gaps, particularly for Burmese refugees. Although the program focuses on this community, it is open to students from all walks of life.

The institute’s Upward College program, which began at the same time as the BACI, is one such service.

According to surveys by BACI, there are more than three times as many Burmese within the city limits as there were ten years ago.

The resettlement of Burmese refugees throughout Perry Township, where BACI is based, has contributed to a significant increase in the Asian community in the area.

Five-year 2019 data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey estimates that there are about 14,000 Asian residents in the township, which includes Southport and parts of Beech Grove.

With this growth, BACI sought a way to connect with young people who would be among the first in their families to attend higher education and some K-12 schools.

BACI program director Lian Sang says the college program does more than guide students toward their next move. It brings them closer, improves morale and creates friendships, he said.

According to BACI estimates, the program has seen more than 450 high school graduates go on to colleges and universities since its inception. They celebrated approximately 95% of their students attending college in 2021.

There are approximately 200 students enrolled in the program. On average, around 50 to 70 students participate in daily events.

December Tling, a mentee in the program, ponders her options: go to college, become a flight attendant, or join the armed forces. If she chooses college, she would be the first in her family to do so.

Tling, 17, is president, connecting with her peers and sharing ideas with BACI leaders.

As COVID-19 changed her high school experience, Tling said her biggest challenge was managing all the moving parts of her life, such as her family on the run in her native Myanmar since the military coup.

“I try to make myself as busy as possible,” Tling said.

On a recent Thursday afternoon, around 50 pupils gathered in an activity room at Southport Secondary School to conduct mock interviews. After the questions were asked, the room burst into laughter. In one corner they recorded TikToks. In another, they were playing games.

Sang said the students were making up for lost time: “They haven’t seen each other for a whole year.”

COVID-19 has raised concerns among program mentors and mentees, much like after-school programs across the country.

Students were skipping assignments or not turning them in at all. Many students in the program are English language learners in Perry Township schools. Virtual learning has been no small feat, Sang said, and the majority of their students have fallen behind at some point.

Mentors have noted improvements this semester, and nearly all students are finding their bearings, Thang said.

“They weren’t necessarily like learning in school because they were doing it online, so we had to put a lot of effort into that,” Thang said.

In this community, the shared knowledge and experiences of mentors make mentees more comfortable with uncharted territory, Tling said.

“You really aren’t alone,” Tling said. “You’re not the only person going through this.”

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Source: The Indianapolis Star