by brooke thames
Since arriving in Lewisburg in 2018, Wutt Kyi ’22 has sought to empower others. She’s used a 3-D printer to create prosthetics for people who have lost fingers due to war, disease or natural disaster through her work with Bucknell’s chapter of e-NABLE. And the biomedical engineering major has co-led the new Society of Asian Scientists and Engineers.
Her advocacy extends to her embattled home country. When Myanmar’s military forcibly seized government control in February after a democratic election — sparking violent clashes between peaceful protestors and armed forces — Kyi transformed a Facebook group she co-created into a platform for Burmese people worldwide to coordinate advocacy efforts.
As a moderator of “Burmese LinkedIn,” Kyi has mobilized many of the group’s 2,000 members to raise legal funds for arrested protestors, petition world governments for action and boost media coverage.
“What’s occurring is directly affecting people I know — my parents, loved ones and friends — who are on the streets risking so much to restore democracy,” says Kyi, who witnessed the power of protest firsthand during Myanmar’s 2007 Saffron Revolution. “I admire their courage and find hope in the efforts of Burmese everywhere.”
Since arriving in Lewisburg in 2018, Wutt Kyi ’22 has sought to empower others. She’s used a 3-D printer to create prosthetics for people who have lost fingers due to war, disease or natural disaster through her work with Bucknell’s chapter of e-NABLE. And the biomedical engineering major has co-led the new Society of Asian Scientists and Engineers.
Her advocacy extends to her embattled home country. When Myanmar’s military forcibly seized government control in February after a democratic election — sparking violent clashes between peaceful protestors and armed forces — Kyi transformed a Facebook group she co-created into a platform for Burmese people worldwide to coordinate advocacy efforts.
As a moderator of “Burmese LinkedIn,” Kyi has mobilized many of the group’s 2,000 members to raise legal funds for arrested protestors, petition world governments for action and boost media coverage.
“What’s occurring is directly affecting people I know — my parents, loved ones and friends — who are on the streets risking so much to restore democracy,” says Kyi, who witnessed the power of protest firsthand during Myanmar’s 2007 Saffron Revolution. “I admire their courage and find hope in the efforts of Burmese everywhere.”