Klein Forest student wins 'Heart in Art' award

Than Tway of Klein Forest High School was honored at the Culture Shapers' annual Awards Banquet with the "Heart in Art" award.

Tway was recognized for overcoming his life challenges and for his talent as an artist. Born in Myanmar, Tway’s father was killed in 2001 during a civil war, and his mother died from an illness a few months after his father’s death. Through the assistance of a Buddhist monk, Tway and his brother escaped to Thailand, where he lived in a refugee camp that housed hundreds of other orphans.

After seven years, Catholic Charities of Houston brought Tway and his older brother to the United States in 2008. He entered Klein knowing only simple English phrases for greeting people. Currently he is entered in an English-language immersion class to improve his English skills, and he is taking classes in U.S. history, chemistry and Advanced Placement art.  

This year, Tway earned recognition in an art contest sponsored by Houston Northwest Medical Center, and he won a silver key for a self portrait in the regional Scholastic Art contest.  

The "Heart in Art" award is given in memory of Danny Wood, a friend of Culture Shapers who passed away in 1999.