This is how boarding school changes a Tibetan girl's future.
Growing up in a remote herding village nearly 4,000 meters above sea level in Nagqu, China’s Xizang Autonomous Region, Pema Lhamo never imagined how far education could take her.
After leaving home for boarding school in middle school, she learned not only how to study independently, but also how to take care of herself.
Years later, she enrolled at a boarding high school in Lhasa, where students from remote high-altitude areas like Nagqu have access to better educational resources.
In 2025, she was admitted to the China University of Petroleum, one of the country's leading universities, becoming the first student from her village to achieve the same milestone.
Now, Pema Lhamo has opened a new chapter of her life, carrying with her the hopes of an entire family.