Tierra K.

Kamolvattanavith grew up in Bangkok, Thailand, in a conservative household. Her mother was an investor, while her father managed a golf course and factory. Despite the family’s physical closeness, Kamolvattanavith always felt emotionally detached from her parents. “There was distance between us. I didn’t understand them, they didn’t understand me,” she says. “They didn’t believe that women should be as vocal as men or have as much social power as men, and that was something that really bothered me.” More troubling, it was something that played out in Kamolvattanavith’s household quite often. “My opinions and thoughts – anything I was saying – were being repressed because of our differences in views,” the Thai says. “I was the girl with a lot of opinions and a lot of things to say. I was very vocal, especially about my thoughts, even if they went against the grain.” Because of that family dynamic, Kamolvattanavith wanted out. So in middle school, she began plotting a way to study at the next level in the United States. However, there was one thing standing in the way of her ambitions – money. Around the same time that Kamolvattanavith was planning her move to the U.S., her family experienced financial hardship. “We ended up losing a significant amount of money with a business decision [my parents] made, and that was a financial turning point for us,” she recalls. “My parents had to start a new business, because they really had to support the family and carry on this financial burden. They had to start something fresh so they could pay off everything and recover financially.” Still, the young Thai wouldn’t let that stop her. She began to apply to schools on her own and when accepted, the future investigative journalist asked an uncle to help cover the expenses. “I think he was more understanding. He was the most encouraging out of everyone. He saw the value I could gain by leaving home. He also helped convince my parents,” she says.