My name is Robin. I come from a lower-middle class family in Yangon, Myanmar. My father was very unwell and unable to work since I was a very young age, and my mother was a housewife. My mother was both a mother-figure and a father-figure for me since I was born. We have always struggled to meet our family’s financial needs. My parents have struggled a lot throughout their lives due to the lack of good education, so the expectations were high for their children when it came to education and dignity. They wanted us to have enjoyable, comfortable lives, but life does not always go as planned.
Due to the massive support and expectations from my mother, despite the difficulties and problems we faced, I passed the matriculation exam with five distinctions.
I got my first ever laptop after high school, and since then, my interest in computers grew bigger and bigger. I decided to choose computer science as my career, aiming to improve the technology difficulties in Myanmar. I am also a very big fan of computer games, and I used to play them professionally and design some games as a hobby.
I was able to study information technology in Yangon for a few years until the COVID-19 outbreak disrupted my academic career. During the long and unproductive COVID-19 break, I studied game design and programming at home, finally deciding to continue my education in Thailand, a well-developed environment with amazing professors and access to great facilities for my education. I believe that studying in Thailand will give me a higher chance of safe and productive studying experiences, which are hard to get in my own country at this moment of time. In addition to that, I will have a chance to contribute to my country with what I have studied and experienced during my time abroad.
About Robin
- Age: 24
- Ethnicity: Burmese
- Country: Myanmar
School & Program
- Rangsit University
- Bachelor’s, Information & Communication Technology
- 4th Year in Program
Goals & Dreams
- Contribute to Myanmar’s technological development
- Learn to sing and play an instrument
- Become a professional gamer
Loan Details
- Loan Amount: $6,850
- Amount Left To Fund: $6,825
- Contract Duration: 13 years
- Status: In School
My mother and my aunt decided that I should study at Rangsit University as soon as possible because of the situation in Myanmar, despite our financial hardships and difficulties. I had never traveled abroad in my life before, so it was a very big step for me leaving my mother and everyone behind with the expectations and beliefs they put on me. I arrived in Thailand on the 3rd of July in 2021. At first, I had a hard time with the local language and food, but I adapted quite well because of how friendly the locals are and also thanks to the help of great friends I met here. It has taught me how to cope with hardships and to be open to more possibilities.
While adjusting to the great culture and environment of Thailand, I lost my father to COVID-19 due to a massive Delta variant outbreak in Myanmar. Three days later, my mother also passed away from COVID-19, which led to huge financial difficulties in my academic career and my future. That was when I realized the plans I had made for myself would never work out anymore and that I would have to adapt and be flexible with the cards I had been dealt. Since then, my aunt has been supporting me to continue studying, but considering she is at a retirement age and has a family of her own, I realized I would have to get further help in the form of scholarships or student loans to stand on my own and make my late parents proud of me.
Currently, I am studying at Rangsit University in Thailand with limited support from my hardworking aunt. After failing to land so many scholarship chances, I realized a student loan would be the most logical and viable option for me to finish my bachelor’s degree and create programs and platforms to assist my country in the technology field.
Written by Robin with editing assistance from Zomia’s volunteer editors.
Robin
“Accepting a Zomia Loan will definitely help me maximize my full potential and pursue my dreams of taking care of remaining family members and becoming the great website developer I have dreamed to be.”