Beilue: Fam Tial’s focus, drive earns her $25,000 Chick-fil-A scholarship

The white lie that Chick-fil-A team members told Fam Tial started to unravel quickly about 8:30 a.m. on the first day of March. The previous night, Tial helped clean and stock at closing, making everything just right for a visit from corporate officials the next morning for what she thought was a promotional video.

Early the next morning, camera crews were already set up when Tial arrived at the Chick-fil-A at 2525 S. Georgia Street in Amarillo. When restaurant director Jasmine Miller signaled for everyone to take their places, Tial believed – wrongly so – that she would be among those in the background.

That is until she walked in the dining room and team members had formed an aisle for her to walk through. Toward the end of the path, she could see her parents, Ngun Di and Siang Tling. That didn’t add up. Then there was Chick-fil-A CEO Andrew Cathy there to greet her. That didn’t add up either.

“Oh my gosh, I couldn’t believe it,” Tial said. “Someone needed to pinch me because I thought I was dreaming. I’m still soaking everything in. I still find it hard to believe this has happened.”

Fitting that Tial’s parents were there. They immigrated from war-torn Myanmar when Tial was 10 so their children, as she said, “could chase the American Dream.” If the American Dream is education, opportunity and a work ethic to realize both, then Chick-fil-A on Georgia Street on March 1 was overflowing with just that.

Tial, who graduated in December from West Texas A&M University and has entered the WT Graduate School, received a $25,000 True Inspiration Scholarships from Chick-fil-A, one of 14 awarded to restaurant employees throughout North America.

“We look for leadership, people who are plugged into their communities, who volunteer, work hard and make a big difference,” Cathy said. “The big thing about (Fam) is she has such a passion for the future. Her story is remarkable in what she has overcome. Her desire to be a teacher and give back to the community speaks to what she is about.”

Fifteen years ago, it would not have seemed remotely possible that Tial could speak flawless English, graduate high school, earn an associate’s and bachelor’s degrees while working nearly full time, and then be recognized with a $25,000 scholarship given to only a select few across North America.

“I could not contain my emotions that day,” Tial said. “Tears from both eyes started flowing uncontrollably.”

In 2009, Tial’s father made the decision to leave Myanmar, known as Burma until 1989. The Southeast Asia country borders China, Laos, Thailand, Bangladesh and India. Myanmar has experienced ethnic-based armed insurgencies against the country’s established armed forces for decades, causing unrest and conflict among the 53 million who live there.

“It’s just not a safe place to live and also opportunities are very limited for safety reasons,” Tial said. “Our parents wanted to give us the chance to chase the American Dream. They left their home, sacrificing everything to come here.”

Siang Tling left months earlier to establish himself in the United States and make the process smoother for his family. After some time in Malaysia, he settled in Amarillo.

In 2010, Tial, an older sister, two younger brothers and their mother followed. As part of the immigration process, they spent 10 months in New Delhi in India before joining their father in Amarillo.

“It was definitely mixed emotions,” she said. “When we gathered our belongings and left, we still had family there. There were aunts, uncles, cousins we left behind knowing that we would never see each other again in this lifetime.

“At the same time by leaving we knew we’d have an opportunity at a better life, better jobs and safety. That gave us a ray of hope.”

Tial arrived in Amarillo in 2010 as a 10 year old. She spoke virtually no English when she started fifth grade at Margaret Wills Elementary in Amarillo. Learning a new language was not easy, but teachers at Wills and later at Sam Houston Middle School went the extra mile for her.

By the end of the sixth grade, Tial spoke English confidently, learning a new language in just more than a year. She now speaks fluently, even down to the slang.

“It’s definitely something you learn as you go,” she said.

That’s been the way for Tial much of her life—learn as you go. She learned the value and necessity of work at age 17. While at Tascosa High School, she began work at the Chick-fil-A on Georgia in April 2017 and hasn’t stopped. Most of the time, it’s been 30 to 35 hours a week, but she topped 40 hours on occasion to save for college.

“My director was so supportive of me,” Tial said. “Education was a priority. If I had a big test coming up and needed to be covered, that would happen to make sure I did well in school.”

Both parents work different shifts at Tyson Foods; Ngun Di works the A shift, from 5 a.m. to 3 p.m., and Siang Tling works the B shift, from 3 p.m. to midnight. While that makes it difficult to be together, at least one parent was home when their children were.

“I know their sacrifices. I look at them when they come home from Tyson and see how exhausted they are. That motivates me in a way,” Tial said. “I want to provide a better future for them and help them retire when the time comes. I had to make something out of myself.”

Tial first went two years to Amarillo College, and then received her undergraduate degree from WT three months ago in education with an emphasis on early childhood through sixth grade. She continues to work at Chick-fil-A while starting work on her master’s. She has applied with several local school districts to begin teaching this fall.

Seeing the difficulty in education in her homeland and seeing how education in the U.S. benefited her steered Tial to becoming a teacher.

“In Burma, education is not free,” she said. “You had to pay tuition and buy textbooks, and most people can barely afford the clothes on their backs and food on the table. You would see boys and girls my age carrying farming tools or staying home and baby-sitting or helping with the housework instead of going to school.

“Even though I was extremely young at the time, that saddened me. I knew in the future I’d like to become someone who could help them.”

The True Inspiration Scholarship is both a reward for that pursuit and a springboard to continue it.

Editor's note: This column originally appeared on the WT website.

Do you know of a student, faculty member, project, an alumnus or any other story idea for “WT: The Heart and Soul of the Texas Panhandle?” If so, email Jon Mark Beilue at jbeilue@wtamu.edu .

This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: Beilue: ‘Chance to chase American Dream’ - Tial earns scholarship