Zaw Naing Win ’13 and Dzung Dang ’13 grew up in educational systems focused on memorization and accepting information without questioning. They arrived on the Hilltop in 2009, Win coming from Myanmar and Dang from Vietnam. While Win aspired to immigrate, Dang initially had no plans to stay in the U.S. Cornell changed the trajectory of their lives, intertwining opportunity, love, and success. Now married, the couple resides in the Boston area. Win (an economics and computer science major) earned his dual degree Emerging Leaders MBA and M.S. in IT and now works as a lead data engineer at Capital One. Dang (an economics and business major and studio art minor) completed her MBA and is a senior manager in supply chain management at Medtronic. Both recently became U.S. citizens, and they welcomed their son, Kai, in August 2024.
Why did you come to the U.S.?
Win: Myanmar is a politically unstable country, so opportunities are hard to come by unless you have connections with high-ranking officials or the military. The idea of the American dream—where hard work pays off—was inspiring. My expectation was to experience college in the U.S., broaden my horizons, and explore my diverse interests.
Dang: For me it really was about wanting to get an education abroad in the U.S. I had a lot of influence by watching American movies and wanted to experience a totally different environment—not necessarily trying to get away, but just wanting a different environment and a top education. Being selected to go to Cornell to study was certainly a life-changing moment.
What was your life like before immigrating?
Win: I come from a small town in Myanmar ruled by the military at that time. Everything was closed off. Exposure to the internet came only after high school, and education emphasized mindless memorization over critical thinking. Studying in the U.S. was life-changing—it completely reshaped my mindset. At Cornell, I developed soft skills like critical thinking and presentation, which have been invaluable in my engineering career and really set me apart from other engineers.
Dang: Similarly, education in Vietnam placed a lot of emphasis on memorization and following a certain way of thinking. Coming to the U.S. was a big change in terms of being able to see from different points of view—seeing how someone can think so differently from you and trying to see from that perspective and how people can be so vocal with their opinions and freely express themselves. That was very refreshing. That shaped my mind as a young adult and helped me grow into who I am today.
What was life like upon arrival at Cornell?
Dang: Being from a really busy, bustling place in Asia where it’s crowded with people and lots of noises all the time—coming to Mount Vernon was just so quiet. It took some time to get used to. But then the air is so clean. So fresh. And the people were very nice as well, and that was kind of a surprise. So the experience of coming to Mount Vernon was shocking, but in a good way.
Has becoming a U.S. citizen changed you?
Dang: I’ve certainly changed a lot. In the U.S., I learned to question and analyze rather than accept information at face value.
Win: A lot has changed for me too. When we visit Myanmar, we now experience reverse culture shock because of the differences in how things are done.
Is the American dream real?
Win: Absolutely. For me, the American dream’s about having a stable job and a good quality of life, compared to countries like Myanmar, where people are living day-to-day or just cannot really express themselves. Here, hard work truly leads to achievement.
Do you have patriotic feelings about the U.S.?
Dang: I couldn’t wait to vote. And I was very excited to get the U.S. passport. You feel a certain patriotism to the country that you are now a citizen of, but it doesn’t diminish our love for our previous country.
What things do you like best about living in the U.S.?
Win: The one thing I really like is how diverse this country is. You have so many different cultures here that you don’t really feel like you are alone. You can find your place in this country as long as you put in time and effort. The sense that “anything is possible” is empowering.
Dang: Diversity is a big thing. You can find so many cuisines, make friends, and learn about things you might not necessarily have exposure to in other parts of the world. And then there’s the access to nature. It’s a short distance to mountains or to the beach. It depends on where you live, but even in Iowa, there are public spaces and playgrounds, and the access to nature is awesome. The U.S. is so big, each state almost feels like a different culture.