Lhamo Wins Coveted Gates Scholarship

She comes from Tibet, where she shepherded yak and sheep. She escaped the country, controlled by the Chinese government, dodging the military in a perilous journey. She had no schooling until she was 12 years old. When she came to Montville High School in 2008, she spoke virtually no English.

Yet Tashi Lhamo , who will graduate this year near the top of her class, will receive a coveted scholarship from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, that will pay all her expenses to a doctorate degree.

“She came to the United States with nothing but a dream,” said Robert Thorn, who coordinates English learning to students whose first language isn’t English. “Now she will achieve that dream.”

Katherine Dykes, who has been both a tutor and mentor, said Tashi voluntarily stayed after school every day from 2 to 4 p.m. to improve upon her English. Now she speaks the language perfectly.

“She’s a combination of strong determination and patience,” Dykes said. “She knows where she wants to go and she knows how to get there.”

Competition for the Gates Millennium Scholarship is fierce, with only 1,000 of them awarded from about 23,000 applications, according to Thorn.

The scholarship is based on academic achievement, community service and leadership. And her personal story – complete with all the obstacles she has overcame - couldn’t hurt either.

Her academic achievements are obvious – she has been a straight-A student. And Thorn said she has become the leader of a growing Tibetan community at the high school. She has volunteered to work in a soup kitchen and with the Salvation Army, among other things.

Tashi, who is soft-spoken and quick with a smile, plans to become a medical doctor. She will attend Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, Pa. in the fall, focusing on pre-med courses.

She eventually would like to return to Tibet or care for people in a third-world country, possibly in Africa.

“I want to help people who are really in need,” she said last week at the high school. “I want to go somewhere where I can make a difference.”

If her story appears to good to be true, it isn’t. It is filled with acts of courage and sheer determination.

She was part of a nomadic family in Tibet, one of 12 brothers and sisters, who traveled with the herd to wherever the grass was greener. She knew nothing of the United States. Eventually she landed here however, where her father and six of her siblings lived. Her mother remains in Tibet to be close to three of her brothers and two of her sisters. She doesn’t know whether the family will ever be reunited.

 In 2003, Tashi became a refugee. She had to escape from Tibet, which was no easy task. She traveled, mostly at night, to avoid Chinese checkpoints.

 “Sometimes I would hide under the car seat,” she said. She and about 15 others would travel miles out of the way to avoid military checkpoints.

 The escape was successful and she became a refugee, living in southern India. Her home was one of 30 dormitory-style buildings with 50 students in each building. She said in an earlier interview that she felt homesick and lost, often crying herself to sleep at night.

Tashi came to the United States in 2007, spending her first year in New York City, where she said she accomplished very little. Then she moved to Montville, where her father and six of her brothers and sisters live. Her father is employed by the Mohegan Sun Casino. She credits Montville School for her success.

 Thorn said he has no doubt that Tashi will be successful in achieving her goals. She just stands up to overwhelming odds.

 “She’s on a roll,” Thorn said. “But it doesn’t surprise me. She’s worked so hard for everything she’s gotten. And she’s not going to stop now.”