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A Myanmar native shares his journey
This article is about:
Growing up as an Asian American Pacific Islander
The benefits of perspectives from those with an API heritage
How to support Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders
Tin Myint’s journey in America began after his mother won the lottery, literally. Tin, his parents, and two brothers moved to New Jersey from Myanmar (formerly Burma) in the mid-nineties when he was a young teen after his mother won the Diversity Visa Lottery held each year by the United States.
“We had less than $1,000 in our pockets,” says Tin. “All of our belongings fit in seven bags of luggage.”
For Tin, learning how to be an American as a middle schooler was not easy. He was urged to assimilate, and “fit in,” and it was a constant battle to understand why he was being picked on. He asked himself, “was it because I was different, quiet, or kids were just being kids?” With almost no English language education in Myanmar, Tin really only knew how to introduce himself. Despite challenging years growing up, Tin found his way as an adult in the world of engineering and technology.
Now, Tin works as an Innovation Guide for Dominion Energy, serving as a conduit of innovative technology and ideas between business groups within the company. For Tin, it’s a whole new kind of learning process with an emphasis on forward-thinking. Thanks to the resilience and patience he learned as a teen, he knows how to grow and find creative solutions to challenges.
“We are looking to the future,” says Tin. “We are making a difference and I love to be a part of that. Our work is very impactful.”
While being a part of positive change is rewarding, Tin says the accomplishments and contributions of Asian Americans in U.S. history, who’ve also helped drive progress and change, deserve to be celebrated. Through his heritage, he hopes to educate his friends and colleagues on the diversity of Asia and to bring out “the minorities within the minorities,” citing countless ethnic groups within the world’s largest continent.
“For me, as an Asian American Pacific Islander, I feel part of a global citizenship that is contributing a different perspective,” says Tin. “We’re all human; we just bring a unique point of view that gives a different color to the rainbow.”
Overall, Tin says it’s his heritage that keeps him humble, coupled with a strong sense of the “family unit” that he brings to his community and his workplace. That sense of giving back has led him to serve on a number of notable boards, including the Asian American Society of Central Virginia, representing Myanmar, and the Virginia Commonwealth University’s College of Engineering Alumni Board.
With the recent birth his seven-week-old son Julian, Tin says he wants his son to grow up in world without hate or discrimination toward Asian Americans.
“We have to be respectful of other cultures and accept everyone for who they are,” says Tin. “We have a long way to go but each one of us can make a difference. We need to start empowering and supporting our API friends and colleagues.”
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