Claire Lwin (‘24, WLP ‘21) demonstrates the pinnacle of leadership: bringing freedom and opportunities to those that lost their privileges. In her home country, Lwin and others, young girls specifically, battle for their freedom against the military coup that has taken over Myanmar in February of 2021. Myanmar is currently under a military dictatorship that has taken away democracy by exploiting voter fraud and threatening the state of education in Myanmar. For example, Lwin recalls she “thought [she] would get [her] education taken away” when the coup suspended the internet after midnight.
It was from the potential threat of losing her education where Lwin was first inspired to start her own school. Starting it when she was 19 years old, she realized the difficulty of education during the coup and how “education is such a privilege”. Specifically, during the pandemic, the government and local schools were closed completely in Myanmar. It was especially difficult for children to receive an education if they lived on the outskirts. While the distance hindered the access to education for children in Myanmar, safety imposed a larger threat to young girls.
Now, the virtual school that Lwin provided a way for all children to have access to education, despite the distance. In fact, this school enrolls over 100 students across Myanmar, Singapore, and even in the US in less than six months. Distance has proven to be no challenge to Lwin as she operates this school from the US, working hard with her three other friends that helped to found the establishment. While in Myanmar, Lwin would call her friends after midnight when the internet was cut, to discuss plans for the school. After initiating the school, Lwin recalls that building the brand from the bottom up was difficult. They found the most success from advertising on social media, but their success was yielded from countless trial and error.
Lwin started this school because she wanted to give back to her community. Her next goal for the school is to hire more accredited and experienced teachers and provide more scholarships for students so that the school is further more accessible. At GW, she is a sophomore studying International Affairs and Entrepreneurship.