CRIS 30th Anniversary Story | Nila
Nila was just three years old when his family joined tens of thousands of fellow Bhutanese who fled their homeland and sought refuge in eastern Nepal. He spent all of his formative years in a refugee camp—attending primary and secondary school there—and eventually began studying yoga. As a young adult, he became a private yoga instructor, offering meditation and yoga training to others in the local area.
Like many others in the camps, Nila’s family could not return to Bhutan, and Nepal did not offer them a path to permanent residence. Third-country resettlement became their only option. In 2011, Nila’s parents, brother, and sister were resettled in Lancaster, Pennsylvania —but Nila was not resettled with them.
“I was not planning to come to the United States,” he explains. “I was thinking, ‘I need to be in Nepal. I’ll be with my own culture, food, and the lifestyle I grew up with. I’ll be with my people.’ I served as a volunteer there and was a yoga instructor.”
In 2015, significant life events—including his siblings’ weddings and health concerns with his mother—led Nila to reconsider. He eventually chose to resettle in Columbus. But the transition wasn’t easy.
“It was not motivating for me,” he recalls. “I had skills in Nepal that became useless here, and I had work and educational experience that didn’t transfer. It was a frustrating experience.”
Discouraged by his unsuccessful attempts to attend college, Nila began to doubt himself. “I thought maybe college is not for me.” He enrolled in English classes at CRIS and started working at a major retail store. After a couple of years of adjusting to life in the U.S., improving his English, and gaining work experience, CRIS staff helped Nila take a big step forward—he was hired as a case manager at the Bhutanese Nepali Community Center (BNCC), a local nonprofit.
It was there that his colleagues reignited his college dream—even going so far as to complete the application for him. He began his studies while still working full-time. When federal funding cuts forced BNCC to reduce staffing in 2019, Nila made another bold move: he enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserve. After completing basic training, he continued his studies and went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in psychology and military science.
Today, Nila serves as a Field Feeding officer (2LT) in the U.S. Army Reserve 620th Quartermaster Company. He also works full-time as a school liaison with Jewish Family Services, supporting refugee and immigrant youth and their families through their educational journeys. He plans to continue serving in the military and hopes to pursue a master’s degree and eventually a PhD in neuropsychology. He is especially passionate about exploring how yoga and mental health support impact neurological well-being.