In her native land of Myanmar in Southeast Asia, Florida Zeta Ni Ni Shwe Win did her best to set herself up for attending college in the United States (U.S.) by attending a college preparatory international high school. With the help of her teachers, she and her high school best friend applied to various colleges in the U.S. Once they received their acceptance letters, and even without a campus visit, the two made the decision to attend the University of Tampa (UT).

Although the international high school back home assisted her in practicing English and helped a little with the culture shock of being an international student, Ni Ni slowly learned to adapt to her life at UT. It was not easy. Ni Ni went through a lot by herself her freshman year – homesickness, roommate issues — and her best friend` transferred to another school their second year. During the second semester of her sophomore year, Ni Ni began to attend the free University counseling sessions, and it was after her second session that a special encounter occurred.

Ni Ni walked through the Vaughn Center , the hub of student life on UT’s campus, a woman approached her to see her interest in joining Pi Beta Phi; Ni Ni said. “Sure, but I have no idea what it is.” Ni Ni had no idea about fraternity and sorority life, but she took the conversation as a sign. She added her email to the list. When Ni Ni went to the Pi Phi event, she saw a lot of people she had seen on campus before and decided to just go with it. She had a feeling this was going to be something good. On Bid Day, she met women who she considers her best friends today.

Ni Ni says she automatically clicked with Pi Phi’s philanthropy of literacy and projects working with kids; she says Read > Lead > Achieve matches what she did in her high school career and her family background. Her dad is from upper Myanmar, to where Ni Ni and her family visit two or three times a year to give donations and meals to the remote villages. In 2012, her dad built a school to support grades K-4, with 40 kids in each classroom. Ni Ni enjoys going to schools to play with the children and tutor the kids. “My dad said they need better schools, so he did it,” says Ni Ni. She also shared that he is now in the works to build a high school in the area.

For Ni Ni, she learned to be actively engaged in her community from her family. She believes that family support is the cornerstone of support and very important. Her strong, positive attitude reminds me of her motto: enjoy the moment and have faith in the future.