In the News · WMUK (NPR)
WMU scholarship recipient recounts journey from Burma to US, escaping Rohingya genocide
WMUK (NPR) · April 16, 2026 · By Michael Symonds
Summary
What the story covers
WMUK reported on the first recipients of the WMU/AAUP Scholarship for First-Generation Students, announced by WMU President Russ Kavalhuna, and on my testimony to the Board of Trustees.
The story covers my escape from Burma, 11 days at sea, survival in the Thai jungle, more than 17 months in detention and orphanages, and my arrival in the United States at the end of 2016.
It explains how the scholarship lets me focus on my engineering education.
There was many times when I was close to death.
Shofi Alom, in WMUK (NPR)