#56: She Left Laos To Find Opportunities. Now She’s Helping Others To Do The Same
How Churn is empowering Lao youths through education and international opportunities
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🔥 Trailblazers
Trailblazers features young Southeast Asians taking the road less travelled — and shaping the region’s future as they go.
10-minute bicycle rides.
That’s all Phetmany Viyadeth (Churn) needed to get to anywhere in her hometown, Luang Prabang. The Laotian small town is known for being quaint and peaceful, free of traffic, congestion, or distractions.
Growing up in a community where people looked out for each other, Churn had always known her life to be simple, full of warmth and happiness.
But deep down, Churn felt she could become better and happier if she ventured out of Laos. This set her on a quest to discover her true calling in life.
From continuing her education in Singapore to working at a startup in Shanghai and successfully landing a full-time role at the United Nations Population Fund (UNPF), Churn’s journey opened up new opportunities for her future career and business.
Having forged a new path for herself, Churn had a strong desire to return and help other youth in Laos achieve the same.
That desire led her to return to start UTD Education, an English learning center and overseas education consultancy that aims to help aspiring Lao students achieve their future dreams.
A Self-Starter Since Young
When she was a student, Churn strived to take on challenges to improve herself, which sets her apart from the rest of her family.
Her mother didn’t find the need to send her for tuition or enrichment classes. “She just wants us to be happy and stress-free, but I always want to challenge myself because I want to be better,” she said.
For instance, she used her hongbao (red packet) money to attend computer lessons. She also had her first taste of entrepreneurship at a young age, when she sold Christmas cards in primary school and, with a friend, launched her first cupcake business.
But money wasn’t quite enough to fulfill little Churn’s itch to challenge herself. That’s when she decided to create another breakthrough by learning English.
From spending weekends at the library reading English books, volunteering at Red Cross Youth, to getting to know international students, she began to realize that learning a new language can open up new opportunities that she never thought were possible.
At this point, we thought that Churn has been a self-starter since young. But she thinks she was following what her friends were doing.
“For example, if my friends get to swim, I’d like to give it a try even if I don’t like swimming,” she said.
Perhaps Churn’s willingness to explore uncharted waters from a young age could have been an early glimpse of her journey ahead.
The Big Move
While considering her options for higher education, Churn was initially accepted to an Australian university for a foundation year, but it was too expensive for her family.
After weighing her options, she eventually chose Singapore as a safer, closer, and more affordable option. But for Churn to get into a local university, she would need to start by attaining an ‘O’ Level certificate to enter junior colleges, which would then prepare her for the ‘A’ Levels that would enable her to enter university.
But that means that Churn needed eight years to obtain a university degree. She knew she had to find another way.
“I thought that I’m just going to go out there, get the experience, get certificates, and learn in any way I can, because my experiences are so much more meaningful than spending another eight years just to get into university,” she said.
With that, she took up a foundation program in Business English and Language Preparation with Kaplan and the British Council. Later, she continued studying for a UK certification in Singapore for two years, and then in China for the last year to graduate earlier.
These experiences became a stepping stone for her to build her career abroad.
Working Abroad and Returning to Laos
After graduating at the age of 20, and amid China’s growing influence worldwide, Churn decided to learn Chinese for a year.
But the truth is that being able to speak Chinese wasn’t the sole “golden ticket” to get accepted by companies in China.
“Because in China, it’s very competitive to even get an internship in a good company, and you need to compete with locals even as a foreigner,” she said.
Thankfully, her university professor had shared some helpful tips. Instead of going all in with blind effort, it’s better to analyze the landscape first and then find your position for greater success.
Churn’s multilingual skills became her strongest point in landing an internship at one of Shanghai’s prominent marketing firms.
Despite enduring 4-hour commutes and “996 culture”, she was trusted to manage brand presence on major Chinese platforms, handle relationships with influencers, and present international products to Chinese audiences.
Churns’s resilience enabled her to thrive in China’s infamous high-pressure work environment. It also taught her a valuable lesson that while you don’t have to be the best at everything, you must be a fast problem-solver.
But when the Covid-19 pandemic hit, she decided to return to Laos. Armed with her work experience in China, Churn secured a communications and innovation role at the UNPF while staying in Laos.
The Path to Building UTD
While working at the UNPF, she helped Lao students apply for overseas universities and obtain visas for free. In return, schools offered her referral commissions.
It made Churn think: if she could succeed in one of the world’s most competitive job forces, why can’t other Laotians?
Despite having experienced a stable and comfortable life with the UNPF, she couldn’t help but dream of building an education company to give back to the youth in her home country.
Transitioning from someone seeking guidance to being that guide, Churn decided to leave the UNPF and start UTD Education.
Describing the early beginnings of UTD, she initially offered free accessible English classes by learning through movies to establish the brand’s presence as an engaging and community-focused outlet.
As more young Laotians became interested in learning English, Churn and her team expanded their services, launching full English classes and additional consultations to help students plan their future educational paths.
Focusing on addressing global challenges for Lao students, UTD also trained local teachers to facilitate world-class programs.
Despite being the only player in the industry, Churn always thought one step ahead and aimed to develop UTD as well as she could. After all, UTD stands for “Up-To-Date”, which reflects Churn’s aspiration for the center to be a leading overseas education consultancy in Laos.
“But of course, we need to be quick and be adaptable,” she says. “We need to have this adaptability to move faster, because whatever that we are offering, there will be somebody doing the same thing as us,” she said.
That’s one of the reasons why UTD’s team is full of young people who have an open mindset and are willing to learn new skills when needed.
Prioritizing people who are willing to work through challenges, she was able to build the dream team that matches the growing demands in the business.
When talking about UTD’s early achievements, Churn proudly shared that some of their students managed to secure prestigious scholarships in Singapore. In addition, she was also invited several times by her former students to share insights as a speaker.
The Youth in Laos
Finishing up our conversation, we asked Churn for her personal views on the aspirations of youths in Laos. It seems that while many young Laotians dream of going abroad, they share the same struggles and challenges that she had.
“I think most Lao youth want the opportunity to study or work abroad to gain international exposure, then return to their home country to take care of their family and start something that they’re passionate about,” she said.
The young people in Laos have aspirations to create a “bigger future” where they aren’t restricted by local borders and discover hidden opportunities that go beyond the dominant industries in the country.
She also highlighted that their purpose of going abroad isn’t just to gain a degree, but also to return with bigger ideas & perspectives to help fellow Laotians who face similar struggles and take care of their loved ones who’ve supported them.
Churn successfully proved that. Her journey reflects how people have the freedom to choose their “spark” in life and turn their hard-won opportunities into a bridge for themselves and others.
With that, Churn is reminding us that chasing opportunities beyond our comfort zone can sometimes reveal a deeper calling—to return and create pathways for future generations who share similar dreams.
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