Alumni Profile: Thet Mon Myat Thein, MAIDP’21

Thet Mon Myat Thein’s unique educational journey and childhood upbringing in Yangon, Myanmar led her to examine democratic movements across Southeast Asia. “My parents always wanted me to become a doctor, but I did not get into medical school because medical universities in Myanmar have a quota for male students. As a result, the entrance score required of women is much higher. So, I entered university as a computer science major, and I started exploring all my options. That’s when I found the social sciences, and I’ve never looked back.”

After completing her bachelor’s in religious studies at the Myanmar Institute of Theology, Thein spent the next seven years working for various nonprofits and NGOs across multiple policy areas.

In 2015, Thein began working for International Organization for Migration (IOM), a United Nations Migration Agency that tackles migrant issues in developing nations. “Working at IOM gave me a lot of insight into migration issues in Myanmar, particularly with respect to women. There are many people in areas of high conflict in Myanmar that do not speak Burmese and do not have proper documentation. This is especially true for women, and many are forced into unwanted marriages as a result of being displaced. My interest in gender policy stems from my personal experience, especially having been denied certain opportunities growing up simply because I was a woman.”

From 2018 to 2019, Thein worked as a National Consultant for the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS). "I assisted in program evaluation of migration related projects for the Livelihoods and Food Security Trust Fund. Program evaluation is about finding the gaps and identifying ways to fill them. It’s gratifying work.”

In 2020, Thein elected to pursue the Master of Arts in International Development and Policy (MAIDP). “I wanted to study public policy because of the impact that a single policy can have on people. You can educate people about how they can benefit from current policies, but if the best policies are not in place to start, we can never achieve the best outcomes."

While pursuing her degree, Thein worked for the Harris Policy Labs. “I was the main contact point for our client, the National Democratic Institute. I performed research and qualitative analysis for the Institute and wrote case studies."

Before completing her degree, Thein applied for an open position at National Democratic Institute, working for their Asia-Pacific team. “Since I had previously worked with them, they were aware of my abilities, and I was already familiar with their work. In this way, the Policy Labs were incredibly helpful with my career transition.” In her current role as a program officer, Thein develops program concepts, strategy, and objectives for the democracy related programming and also plans and supports program activities in the Southeast Asia portfolio.

In addition to the Policy Labs, Thein says that one of the most influential aspects of her experience at Harris was learning how to network. “I was not good at networking before I came to Harris. But I worked with the Career Development Office and they were able to help me understand how to network in the U.S. Enough practice taught me to not be shy. It’s important to reach out to people, talk to people, and participate in activities. It really helped me grow as a person and as a professional.”