They came to Bowling Green three years ago with little
formal education and virtually no English language skills, but on
Saturday they happily walked the aisle with their classmates at Western
Kentucky University’s E.A. Diddle Arena to accept their diplomas as
graduates of Greenwood High School.
Ba Gay, Piang Lian and Kyaw So are Burmese refugees whose
families were relocated to Bowling Green after political unrest forced
them to flee their native Myanmar for refugee camps in neighboring
Thailand and Malaysia.
The students, all 20 years old, confronted many challenges in their
new environment, where they had to learn to adapt to the American
educational system and a new language.
“We couldn’t live in Burma, we needed a better life and education,” Lian said.
There
were next to no opportunities for formal schooling in the refugee
camps, and the three refugees enrolled at Greenwood at an age when most
students are close to graduating.
The state does not fund refugees
or legal immigrants who are 21 or older and attempting to complete
their high school requirements.
State Rep. Jody Richards, a
Bowling Green Democrat, sponsored a bill that passed the House earlier
this year that would change the practice. But Richards’ bill died in the
Senate.
Shelly Towe, who teaches English as a Second Language at
Greenwood, said Gay, Lian and So were put on an accelerated path to help
them graduate before aging out.
In addition to the ESL and other
classes the three refugees have taken, Gay, Lian and So took additional
classes through the Novel Stars program, which enables students to
complete classes online.
During the school year, Gay and Lian were
able to earn three credits through Novel Stars in one class period, and
So earned two credits in one period.
“The diploma has been very important to them, and they are all hard workers,” Towe said.
After growing up among an assortment of Burmese dialects, the students speak English well, if haltingly.
They
have also mastered the English alphabet, another adjustment from the
written Burmese language, which has 55 characters and is referred to as
ka-lounh.
“We know English, but we’re shy,” Lian said.
The
new graduates play soccer in local leagues and were part of an
intramural volleyball team at Greenwood that finished second in a
schoolwide tournament.
“I think Greenwood has been a very accepting community to all of them,” Towe said.
So
plays guitar and sings, and Lian is proficient enough in English to act
as an interpreter for the family of another Burmese student who is
functionally mentally disabled.
“He is applying for an interpreter position with the school district,” Towe said.
Gay
and So also hope to find jobs after they graduate, and So said he wants
to be able to help his two younger brothers and younger sister through
work.
They are members of a graduating class of 235 students that
was awarded $4.4 million in scholarship money and features 82 honor
graduates, nine Governor’s Scholars and four National Merit commended
students.
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