Graduation 2021

I want to start by sharing a little about myself that you guys might not know, I grew up in a small town and a small country called Myanmar that most people would not have even heard of. I grew up with a family of five whose pushes each other to do better. Even before I know of what college golf was, I was attending at an international school playing in basketball, volleyball, and soccer teams, and at the same time golfing about 40 hours over the weekend. I had big dreams even before I knew what was out there. With little that my parents had, they pushed me to pursue those dreams, I played in as many rounds of golf as I could to better myself, yet they didn’t let me know that they were struggling to afford each round. With their support, I was able to pursue my dream fearlessly, which is how I ended up at IU. I cannot thank them for believing in me and trusting me to pursue my dreams, and at the same time teaching me to be grateful of any opportunities.

From grinding in South Carolina, making many great friends whom I still keep in contact with to this day, I thought I had to come to IU to pursue one of the biggest dreams I had. It truly wasn’t the path I was expecting, honestly was too naïve back then. Coach said the night before Big Ten that golfers are not judged by their scores, instead it’s the way the managed themselves from a bad shot, a bad lie, or even a bad luck. I think it truly applies to my whole college career. From getting on campus with two other completely different freshmen, not fitting right in with the team, trying to hit a massive fade out of the rough with a 4 hybrid multiple times, not performing well and making stupid life choices, global pandemic, not being able to go home, and on top of that a military coup currently happening. While I have made interesting choices the past four years, I am proud of the journey that took me to be the person that I have become today.

It was 4 and a half years ago exactly I was making a speech at my NLI signing at academy, where I was asked why I chose Indiana University “I enjoy a challenge and at IU I know I will have to work hard to achieve my goals” and then to the question “what are you looking forward to most as a member of this college golf team” I replied: “to be a part of another family.”

I haven’t felt that way during my entire IU career until now, and that’s because of every one of you on this team and more.