A final update on our Laos school

“The most powerful thing in the world is an idea whose time has come.” — Adam Braun

Deep within the mountains of rural northern Laos, in a small village called Bouam Phor with a population of 790 people, there now exists a school. But three years ago, this school was just an idea. Today, we are proud to announce that our idea’s time has come — but only after a bizarre, improbable journey that has simply left us shaking our heads at how it all happened.

Classes began on January 11th, 2021

In 2017, we were two college kids trying to figure out how to change the world, but with nothing to channel our ambition towards. That changed when we read the book that ended up directing the trajectory of our remaining college careers — The Promise of a Pencil by Adam Braun. Like us, Adam was fiercely competitive, hopelessly idealistic, obsessed with purpose, and wanted to leave his dent in the universe. Backpacking through the developing world, Adam witnessed a number of communities who lacked access to a quality education, so he quit his job in finance and started Pencils of Promise — an organization focused on building schools in Laos, Ghana, and Guatemala.

Adam with some of the first Pencils of Promise students

Adam’s story resonated with us deeply. Encompassed by the intense social pressure of college to conform and fit in, the opening chapter — Why Be Normal? — was a breath of fresh air. At one point in the book, Adam reflects on his time building the first school in Laos:

“As I floated in the river I often wondered, What are my friends doing at this very moment? They were at swanky parties or sitting in important meetings with important people, and I was in the mountains swimming and playing Duck, Duck, Goose. I couldn’t have been happier with my choice. It was the simplest life I’d ever known, and the most fulfilling too.”

Reading passages like this one opened our eyes to a whole new realm of possibilities for our future. We had known for a while that we didn’t want to be the “typical college student”, but Adam’s story redefined what was possible, shifting our social impact ambitions from community service to community-centered systems-change. By focusing on school builds, Adam provided children with access to quality education, clean water, sanitation programs, and hygiene products — factors that improve literacy & health outcomes for the long-term. Having been exposed to so many projects that simply put a ‘band-aid’ on a problem, this macro-approach focusing on deep-rooted sustainable solutions got us fired up. We started viewing empowerment through education as the key to maximizing human potential because it gives people the tools and agency to solve problems on their own. Some of the thorniest social issues now seemed somewhat attainable to tackle. In fact, Adam encouraged us to be unreasonable and take on these challenges. Suddenly, failure actually seemed more appealing than not trying at all.

Why would we want the one life we were given to be normal anyway?

With this new perspective, we both committed ourselves to dreaming bigger, taking more risks, and being a little more vulnerable. It was time to write our own chapter. We each started respective Pencils of Promise clubs on our college campuses and tried our best to spread our passion for global education to the rest of the student body.

We both had ambitions bigger than what was permitted by the bureaucracy governing student organizations on our campuses, and we were significantly slowed down by the rules, which we had to evade multiple times to keep going. It was difficult continuing to put ourselves out there and ask for help, fearing rejection and failure, and it made it worse that the institutions that were supposed to be supporting us were making it even more challenging. There were multiple times in the beginning where the path ahead looked impossible, the energy just wasn’t there, and we seriously contemplated quitting. But multiple times, in these darker moments, a spark of hope came from an unlikely source that kept us believing. Maybe it was just a $5 donation out of nowhere from a friend, or an encouraging email from someone we didn’t know but who had heard about our goal and wanted to give their time. These moments made us keep pushing and helped us realize we were building something far bigger than ourselves. They also legitimized what we were doing to future potential supporters of our movement. Raising a sum this large was all about momentum, and having the support of those first few people who believed in us enough to give their hard-earned money, when there appeared to be no sensible path to the $50,000 needed to build a school, meant the world.

Omaha PoP’s first large donation that made the path to 50k seem possible

Still, it wasn’t easy, especially in the beginning. When reflecting on the beginnings of his organization, Adam writes, “Sometimes you have to show someone that you’re willing to run through a wall before they’ll open the front door.” We took this to heart, and ran through our fair share of walls before the doors began to open. Here are just a few examples:

Mike and the Omaha team:

• Sold stickers for a 50 cent margin.
• Cold-called every Catholic school principal in Omaha (in some cases 5+ times) to organize a city-wide casual day fundraiser (which 18 schools ended up participating in).
• Went door-to-door at local businesses asking for sponsors for the casual day (secured a $500 sponsorship with Godfather’s Pizza after many, many phone calls).
• Secretly held meetings in the basement of a freshmen dorm after not being allowed to meet on campus.
• Flipped books on eBay for as little as a $2 profit.
• Dressed up in a pencil costume and bet strangers $10 on 1 on 1 basketball games (raising $80 after 8 straight victories).
• Made an application video and was selected to compete on American Ninja Warrior.
• Spoke to 10 elementary schools about the importance of global education and started a K-8 tutoring program.

Jason and the SLU team:

• Had to ask a faculty contact to reserve meeting spaces since we couldn’t reserve spaces as a developing student organization.
• Planned and prepped all the food for a charitable bake sale, only for it to be cancelled by the university an hour before, due to an unknown campus rule. Secretly held the bake sale out of an apartment anyway.
• Later found out that developing student organizations were restricted from having campus fundraisers, even though our primary goal was raising money to build a school. Began instituting profit shares with local organizations including the St. Louis Cardinals.
• Had at least one club meeting where literally no one showed up except for the executive board.
• Hosted a charitable split-the-pot March Madness Bracket Challenge, but since SLU made the tournament, we found out we couldn’t legally give money to winners since we were a SLU student org.
• Planned collaborative education events with other student organizations, focusing on gender inequality in education, local STL literacy issues, access to clean water around the world, and more.

Through all of these fragmented efforts, we started to gain traction. By making the bold statement that we would build a school early in the process, we had no other option but to deliver on our word. We didn’t know what that path would look like, but by banging down enough doors with brute force, the path eventually materialized.

And luckily, we got some incredible help along the way, including (but certainly not limited to):

Mike and the Omaha Team:

• Sarah Miklius, who gave me The Promise of a Pencil book, and ultimately connected me to Jason (who had given her the same book a few months prior).
• The Omaha PoP core team, (you know who you are), who believed in the vision from the beginning and were integral in so many individual small actions that collectively built this school.
• The Pencils of Promise team who gave me the opportunity to travel to Laos, and the students there who inspired me to commit fully to building a school.
• An anonymous $2,000 donation from a connection I met by pure coincidence in Laos, which was matched by another $2,000 from purpose-coach Jay Shetty.
• The over 5,500 students from elementary schools across the city of Omaha who contributed small amounts after hearing our team speak about the importance of global education in the developing world.
• The countless number of people I never met, but who heard about my American Ninja Warrior journey on the radio, in the newspaper, or on TV and felt called to contribute.

Jason and the SLU team:

• Emily Egan, who encouraged me to read The Promise of a Pencil.
• The dedicated group of SLU students, (you know who you are), who built out the structure of an organization, launched events to educate the SLU community about barriers to literacy, and created a tight-knit, grassroots Pencils of Promise presence on campus.
• Family, friends, and former teachers who donated to help us raise our first $1,000.
• The SLU students who began asking for PoP donations rather than birthday/holiday gifts, increasing the momentum of our campaign.
• The Viatorian Community, especially Fr. Corey Brost, who supported our efforts from the beginning and helped us raise over $8,000 through events with Viatorian Youth Congress, St. Viator High School, Bishop Gorman High School, Bishop McNamara High School, and the Viatorian Social Justice Fund.
• Ben Smyth and Jackie Weber, SLU faculty, who helped us tremendously on multiple occasions to resolve issues while becoming/scaling a student organization.
• The anonymous donors who twice donated $2,500 to our campaign.

And after two years of movement building and sustained effort, and with the help of all of the incredible people and groups listed above (and many, many more), our $50,000 goal was attained. Not only that, but an anonymous donor who was connected to Mike through American Ninja Warrior donated an additional $250,000 and plans to continue these gifts to Pencils of Promise annually. This level of support has the ability to seriously make the type of transformative impact that got us inspired in the first place, and it wouldn’t have been possible if we hadn’t been hopelessly idealistic in the beginning and unreasonably pursued our goals.

Of course, this experience was much more than just accumulating an increasing fundraising tally, but a deeply transformative personal journey which will guide our lives far beyond the construction of this one school. This journey took us everywhere from Las Vegas to Laos to the starting platform of American Ninja Warrior, but most importantly, it took us out of our comfort zone. Starting a movement like this from scratch was a crash course in leadership and entrepreneurship. It showed us the value of combining a bold vision, a pragmatic game-plan, and unshakable persistence. It showed us that the only way to execute on that game-plan is to do the small things right, day after day, and to appreciate each act of courage from others that make the vision possible. And most importantly, we learned that when you are working on a project much bigger than yourself, it requires a level of determination that is much bigger than yourself.

Given the impact this journey had on us, it is only fitting that we conclude it with a call to action to the students of our school in Bouam Phor, Laos. Over the holidays, we were given one final task: to submit a 75-character phrase for the school plaque. We talked through our options, and decided that we wanted the phrase to be something the students could embrace, a message that has meant a lot to us on our journey:

ບໍ່ຄວນຢ້ານທີ່ຈະມີການປ່ຽນແປງ

The phrase (pronounced boh-khon-yahn-tee-ja-mi-khan-pian-pehng) translates directly to “don’t be afraid to make changes,” a message that carries the same cultural meaning in Laos as “Why Be Normal”. Each morning, as the students enter their new school, they will see this phrase above the doorway. And if they choose to, they too will decide to grapple with this very question — the same one that changed our lives and built their school. We hope it also inspires them to dream bigger, take more risks, and be a little more vulnerable.

A Call to Action:

Our challenge to you is the same as it is to the students in Bouam Phor — why be normal? Had we not embraced non-conformity and discomfort, this school simply wouldn’t exist right now, and we wouldn’t have had all of the life-giving experiences and opportunities for personal growth in the process. Clinging to convention and comfort is natural and easy, and the fear of failure and rejection is very real. But 2021 has never been a better year to let go of conformity. The world is bursting with needs, as we are facing a global pandemic, political turmoil, climate change, systemic racial injustice, and so much more. Obviously, these issues are too big for any one person to solve, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t worth it (and personally fulfilling) to try. Don’t let your idea be just an idea. Because if you pursue it hard enough, it will one day flourish and become a small but tangible win for humanity. And the journey from today until the day when your idea is more than just an idea will be a beautiful one.

So ask yourself — what daily habits/lifestyle choices/career paths am I pursuing for no other reason besides the fact that they are ‘normal’? (i.e. because my friends make similar choices, or I feel societal pressure to behave in that way). Take a deep look at yourself and reflect on whether your real dreams and aspirations for your life match with all of these ‘normal’ activities.

If not, what are you going to do about it?

With gratitude to all who have made this journey possible,

Mike & Jason