The Burmese American Community Institute is a program that intends to help mainly Burmese American students and adults in Indiana.

They provide immigrants with housing, EL classes, aid in professional activities such as government paperwork and partner up with Glearners for food pantries. 

Tuchin Par is the president of the Upward College Program that the BACI utilizes.

“Overall, BACI is meant to be a helpful tool for the community,” Tuchin Par said. “One that’s available for everyone, despite being a Burmese organization.” 

The UPC primarily focuses on academics and provides mentors to all the students enrolled. They help with scholarships and financial aid, especially because of the increasing number of people in the Burmese community going to college. 

Sophomore at SHS and treasurer of the BACI UCP, Ding Oo, finds this very important.

“Not only do [BACI] want students to achieve academics,” Oo said. “But to improve their individual behaviors and manners.”

BACI also has a cultural dance team. The team consists of 15 members, including Oo. The team performs at many cultural events such as Myanmar Union Day, Cultural Festivals, 45th International Festival and the Celebration of Cultural Diversity.

The team consists of eight main ethnic groups of Myanmar. In each of the groups, there is one boy and one girl who represent their cultures, clothing and dances.

BACI UCP has already hosted its first event on Thursday, Oct. 20 called Mini-O, also known as the mini olympics. It is a sports competition that has a variety of games such as the egg drop race.

Vice President, Cherry Tial, finds joy through the program for a multitude of reasons. One being the impact of the events on the students. “I hope that more students will join the program because I’m happy when a lot of people enjoy the activities we plan out,” Tial said.

The club also planned a Halloween Party on Oct. 27. The event  included a polaroid booth, tables designated to face paint, games and snacks.

When planning the activities, they keep entertainment in mind. As the group consists of high school students, they know first hand what students their age would be interested in. Tial Tin Par, secretary of the UCP student government, also says they make everything as inclusive as possible.Putting on these events and watching the interactive students can ultimately be rewarding to those running them.

“We had a large number of students show,” Par said. “And I heard lots of positive feedback from the students about how the activities were fun and enjoyable.”