While all Tibetan refugee children have access to the schools set up by His Holiness the Dalai Lama in the 1960s-70s, many are unable to afford college after graduating from high school. The Tibet Fund supports several scholarship programs to address this need, each designed for students with differing aspirations and financial needs. Choekyi Lhamo has benefited from two of these programs to pursue her dream of becoming a professional journalist.
Born in New Delhi to Tibetan refugee parents, Choekyi was raised by her grandparents in Clement Town, Dehradun. Her grandparents, former nomads from Nagchu County in Tibet, fled to India in the 1960s. “They started with nothing as they sought to rebuild their lives,” Choekyi recalls.
Her passion for English blossomed in secondary school, leading her to earn a bachelor’s in English with Honors from Delhi University. In 2017, Choekyi received a scholarship from The Tibet Fund’s Professional Scholarship Program to pursue a master’s in English Studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University, where she became an active member of the student-led Tibet Forum. “The scholarship grounded me and boosted my confidence to compete with other students,” she said, allowing her to focus on her studies without financial stress.
After earning her master’s, Choekyi joined Phayul, a Tibetan-run English news portal, where she reported on politics, gender issues, and the lives of Tibetans in exile. She also contributed to community events and served as Vice President of the Association of Tibetan Journalists in Dharamsala.
In 2023, Choekyi was awarded a scholarship from The Tibet Fund’s Tibetan Scholarship Program and became one of three Dean’s Fellows at UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism. At Berkeley, she seeks to master responsible storytelling. “This opportunity will enhance my journalism skills and empower me to advocate for the Tibetan struggle,” she said. Currently, she leads the South Asian Journalists Association’s Berkeley chapter, focusing on investigative reporting and narrative writing.
Choekyi’s journey exemplifies how education can empower individuals to advocate for their communities. Scholarships open doors to better prospects, leading to both financial security and self-reliance, and enabling educated Tibetans to take on leadership roles and drive social change within their communities and beyond.