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Learn more about Pearl Lwin and get to know the person behind the posts you have read.
Pearl Lwin is a staff reporter and photographer for Highline College’s newspaper, the Thunderword, and is a Running Start student at Highline College graduating in June of 2024 with a general AA degree. She will be attending the University of Washington in the fall, planning to major in film and media. She aspires to be documentarian, preferably in Southeast Asia, covering some of the issues as well as the culture of ethnic peoples and to show the world through media what the lives of Asian’s look like.
Pearl Lwin's Recent Posts:
“Every successful person was once a beginner,” Mumina Hassan mentions her favorite quote she saw hanging up at Highline College once. Just like the quote, she was once a beginner.
From Somalia, Hassan came to Washington in December of 2008 and started her own childcare business in July of 2010 – without much knowledge on the childcare system. She realized she needed certifications and came to Highline to learn more about childcare.
Each year, the Karen Community Church of Greater Seattle hosts “Run for Hope for Burma”, a fundraising race to raise money for humanitarian aid in South Eastern Asian country Burma, which is currently known as Myanmar.
This year, the 5K race was held at Chambers Creek Regional Park in Pierce County on Saturday, May 25. Although it was cold and windy, the racers weren’t deterred as they empathized with refugees and internally displaced people who’ve faced worse conditions while in civil war, as a lot of the racers were previously refugees themselves.
To celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander month, Highline College hosted “AAPI Avenue,” an event held in the Student Union where many different Asian vendors sold their crafts. One of the many ways to honor Asian culture is to support small Asian owned businesses.
AAPI month was officially established in 1992 under the George H. W. Bush administration with the passing of Public Law 102-450. Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month was renamed as AAPI Heritage Month in 2009, according to History.com.
The month of May was chosen to honor the first immigration of Japanese people to the United States on May 7 of 1843.
On a beautiful, sunny weekend the Pacific Bonsai Museum in Federal Way, the Pacific Bonsai Museum hosted its fourth BonsaiFEST! to celebrate World Bonsai Day. During the May 11-12 event there were many exhibitions, hundreds of bonsai’s displayed, art activities, food trucks, and more.
This photo story, highlights some of the bonsais to learn more about the culture, history, and art of these miniature trees.
Mother’s Day is just around the corner, and what better gift is there than one you hand crafted yourself? For sons, daughters, offspring, children, step-children, or chosen-children on a tight budget or anyone who simply wants to create something personal, take a look at three of the easiest, personalized crafts you can make for your beloved mother.
“There are so many fancy and sophisticated things that we can buy and gift for Mother’s Day. One might even equate that the more expensive the gift, the more it shows our love for our moms,” says Panther Lake Community Church’s youth leader, Ehler Win.
“However, for students who are on a tight budget, handmade gifts are just as valuable, if not more than the expensive store-bought gifts,” continued Win. “Handmade gifts allow us to spend time and creativity crafting the gift.”
Located alongside south Dash Point road in Federal Way, there lies hidden floral grounds: Powellswood Garden, a 37-acre preservation of luscious botanicals as well as native plants and wildlife. Powellswood Garden is the perfect spot to enjoy a nice stroll through the gardens or a short hike on their trail to take your significant other for a date, your family for a day trip, or your friends for a chill hang-out day.
Last week, we got to look into some amazing local solo artists of Washington state. If there was one thing those artists agreed upon (and what this week’s artists agreed upon), it was how music unites people.
This week, we get to learn about the unity of multiple musicians brought together; the creation of a band.
Let’s get to know your local bands!
Music is truly a universal language that anyone can enjoy. Regardless of language barriers or personal differences, musicians from all around the world share a culture of sound and style that creates a beautiful connection between one another.
With endless genres to choose from – like Hiphop, Pop, or Jazz – there is a style of music for everyone. In the Washington community, we get a taste of a wide variety of genres from some awesome local creators.
Let’s get to know your local artists!
If you’re curious about getting your first tattoo and you feel unsure about getting it done, know that it is okay to feel that way. Tattoos should take a lot of consideration, being that they are a permanent thing, and they are quite the lengthy process to get done. From fellow Highline students themselves, this article will share some advice from fellow Highline students on how their experiences went and what their opinions are on tattoos.
Former Highline student, Niko Manjares, has a whole forearm tattoo of a foo lion and a tiger for his first tattoo done by the artist James Dixon (@jamesdixon42 on Instagram). Tattoos take a lot of time to get done to ensure the quality of the art piece and the care taken to do it. Niko had to have two sessions – both two and a half hours each to get his forearm done.
Dining services at Highline have changed – instead of the cafeterias of the past, Highline now offers a variety of food truck options each week. These food trucks offer delicious food from different countries and bring a new dining experience to Highline’s campus.
In campus life, meals become a daily difficulty for teachers and students. Time on campus is always very tight and in order not to miss meals and nutrition every day, some people will choose to bring their own meals, and others consider the distance limit around campus for the solution to get food.
Geocaching is a global treasure hunt where caches (secret storages) are hidden away for participants to find. If you like a challenge or want some fun new thing to do with your family or friends in your free time, geocaching is the perfect hobby for you.
Using the official Geocaching app, you can choose any cache to find in your area and hunt it down given the location and exact coordinates.
Federal Way is undergoing major construction, which means there will be many additions to the downtown of this city, one of which is the renovation of Town Square Center.
On South 316th Street, right next to the Federal Way Performing Arts and Events Center there is an empty, unoccupied lot known as Town Center 3 or TC-3. But it won’t be deserted for much longer because the city of Federal Way has some plans in mind for TC-3.