Inspired by the leaders, educators and students whom she has encountered and driven by her commitment to lifelong learning, Ms. Chimi Dema was inspired to become a teacher. She is a dedicated teacher from Peljorling Higher Secondary School, Samtse District. Her guiding principle, “Being the Champion by Championing Every Child,” reflects her belief that teachers become champions when they prioritise connection, modelling, and adaptability to positively impact their learners’ lives.

She leads by example. In 2021, she published her novel “Divja: Twice Born” to demonstrate the transformative power of storytelling. This initiative sparked a writing movement among students. She mentored a student who once struggled with language proficiency to successfully publish a novel, which subsequently funded his college education.

She spearheaded free online English courses during summer vacation and conducted a month-long intensive English course, which helped elevate her school’s English performance to 9^th rank nationally and boosted poor academic students’ confidence in their competency and performance. She uses inclusive teaching strategies such as participatory learning, differentiated instruction, collaborative and cooperative learning, continuous assessment and feedback, and AI-augmented strategies to engage her students towards academic excellence.

She promoted an evidence-based research project at her school, titled “Role of Discipline in Academic Performance of Students of Peljorling Higher Secondary School: A Gender-Based Study”. Through the research process, she spent a lot of time with the students to understand their socio-academic context. As a result, the school management revised its discipline policy to provide a more supportive environment, aligned with students’ needs. Beyond her classroom duties, Ms. Dema volunteered in various capacities during the COVID-19 pandemic, serving as a frontline worker for Guardian of Peace (Desuup) while providing offline instructional materials and online engagement opportunities for students. Ms. Chimi Dema holds a Master of Arts in English and a Bachelor of Education in IT/English from the Royal University of Bhutan.