Beneath the North Star is an initial attempt to capture the diverse experiences of Southeast Asian Americans in this Midwest state. In the summer of 2016, we were fortunate enough to have the opportunity to speak with sixteen informants from a variety of backgrounds and ethnic Southeast Asian heritages (such as Vietnamese, Cambodian, Karen, and Filipinos) along with other community members and educational experts who have worked closely with Southeast Asian immigrants, families, and students. Our storytellers also include those participated in earlier projects conducted by different cohorts. We sincerely appreciate the time, tales, treasured collectibles that these community members have kindly shared with us; without them, this project would not be possible.
Tenzin Choerap’s passion for helping students from low-income and first generation background has lead him to his current position with the TRIO Student Support Services (SSS) program at St. Olaf College. In addition to Mr. Choerap’s role as an academic advisor, he oversees the SSS Board of Leaders comprised of twelve SSS students from various class levels. Mr. Choerap also serves as an advisor for Karen Organization Outreach; a student organization at St. Olaf College. In April 2015, he became a Johnson Family Opportunity Fund Committee Member. Mr. Choerap is committed to providing services to students from disadvantaged background. He often presents to prospective students and high school students about the importance of pursuing a post-secondary education. He has attended local, regional and national conferences for TRIO programs and has gained valuable insight regarding the values, mission and the challenges of TRIO programs. He enjoys playing basketball.
Judy Dirks has been a bonafide community leader in Northfield, Minnesota, for more than four decades. In 1975, she began working with the Vietnam War refugees as the head of the Northfield Refugee Committee, a coalition of ten local churches that aimed at helping refugee relocation, and she held that position for 24 years. Even today, she continues to assist people in navigating the complex immigration process. Beloved by all those she has helped and recognized by everyone, Judy’s advocacy for the Asian community in Northfield earned her the 2011 “Good Neighbor Award” from the Rotary Club of Northfield and the 2013 “Human Rights Award” from Northfield’s Human Rights Commission among many other honors.
Robert Entenmann, a graduate of the University of Washington, earned an M.A. in East Asian Studies at Stanford and a Ph.D. in History and East Asian Languages at Harvard University. He also studied at the Inter-University Center for Chinese Language Studies in Taiwan. Entenmann has served as department chair of both History and Asian Studies at St Olaf College. He teaches history and interdisciplinary courses on China, Japan, and Southeast Asia.
Rebecca Ferrer and her family left the Philippines and immigrated to Seattle, Washington, in 2011. Rebecca currently attends St. Olaf College in Minnesota, pursuing of a degree in Biology. She is set to study in India as part of her school’s South India abroad program. Although she has been in America for five years, she still considers herself to be Filipino because of a sense of national pride that never goes away. She enjoys reading, playing frisbee, and being a gymnast. After college Rebecca plans to become a researcher in microbiology
Wendy Gonzalez is an academic advisor/assistant director for the Student Support Services program at St. Olaf. Wendy graduated with a BA in English and ARMS from St. Olaf College and received a Master of Science in Mass Communications from Boston University. She was a participant of Upward Bound in highschool and a member of the Student Support Services and McNair Scholars program in college. Originally from California, she pursued a career in marketing until she felt she wanted a change of pace.
Janis Johnson is the Director of the TRIO McNair Scholars Program at St. Olaf College and has been involved professionally in TRIO for more than 25 years. She has directed the TRIO McNair Scholars Program for 9 years, the TRIO Educational Talent Search (ETS) Program for 16 years, and worked with the University of Minnesota Upward Bound program for 11 summers. Ms. Johnson has spent her entire career advocating for equal educational opportunity for students from low-income, first generation and underrepresented backgrounds, and as a social worker for court-ordered adolescents, a transition counselor for students with disabilities and a study skills teacher and counselor with college students. Janis completed two M.A.’s at the University of Minnesota: one in Education and the other in Counseling and Student Personnel Psychology. She is also a licensed psychologist in the state of Minnesota.
Kaziah Josiah is the third child of a Karen family. Due to the persecution of the Karen in Myanmar (Burma), her parents immigrated to Thailand where she was born. Kaziah and her family were among the first wave of Karen refugees who began to immigrate to the United States in 2004. Currently she studies at St Olaf College, majoring in Political Science and Economics. In 2015 she cofounded the first Karen organization in school to preserve and share Karen history.
Nghia Le and Loan Ho are the first generation Vietnamese immigrants originally from South Vietnam. During the Vietnam conflicts, Nghia was sentenced in prison for ten years after the North Vietnam took over, for he worked for the South Vietnam police department. After serving his sentence, Nghia fled the country with his two sons and came to the United States. He gained citizenship in merely five years and subsequently sponsored his wife and one of his daughters to immigrate to the United States. He had worked as a welder for more than two decades in a Minnesotan factory. Being the parents of five children and the grandparents of several grandchildren, the couple, both in their 70s, is now retired in Faribault, Minnesota, taking care of their garden and watching over their grandchildren.
Melissa Melgar is the Assistant Director of the St. Olaf TRIO McNair program and has been involved professionally in TRIO for 11 years. She is a proud alumna of the TRIO Educational Talent Search, Upward Bound Math and Science, Student Support Services and McNair programs. She is passionate about the TRIO mission to eliminate barriers to higher education for students from low-income and first-generation backgrounds. Melissa graduated with a B.A. in Art Education at St. Olaf and received her K-12 teaching license after completing her student teaching in India. Melissa went on to complete her M.A. in Education from Concordia University-St. Paul. Melissa is a member of the MN TRIO Association and the midwest Educational Opportunity Association, chairing committees as Technology, Alumni, Scholarships, Archive Management, Conference Planning, Fundraising, and TRIO Achievers.
Toui Mohlke moved from Laos to New York with her family in 1975, as her father worked as a diplomat for the United Nations. Unfortunately political conflicts back home prevented them from returning. The family then moved to Virginia before they settled down in Minnesota in 1980. The small size of the Asian population in the Twin Cities surprised them, but they grew to like it here. While her parents have since returned to the East Coast, Toui stayed in Minnesota for college and started her own family. In 2005 she relocated to Northfield with her husband and children
Naomi Munggai, A native of Malaysian Borneo first visited Northfield, Minnesota, in 1991. She moved here permanently in 1998 after finishing her studies at Hull University in England and work commitments to the Malaysian government. She also studied in Edinburgh, Scotland. However, she has not yet decided whether or not to become a US citizen as Malaysia does not allow dual citizenship. Still, Naomi is an active member in the Northfield community, currently living here with her husband and two daughters.
Dalena Ngo is a second generation Vietnamese American who attends St. Olaf College in pursuit of a degree in English and Biology. She lives in Shakopee, Minnesota, with her parents and two siblings. Although Dalena was born in the US, she considers herself a Vietnamese American because she wishes to pay homage to her heritage. She enjoys reading graphic novels, which propels her to major in English. Her dream career is to become a graphic designer.
Christine Nguyen is a Vietnamese American studying the natural sciences at Augsburg College in the Twin Cities, Minnesota. Her parents, first generation immigrants from Vietnam, moved to Minnesota in order to provide a better environment for their daughter. Christine grew up as one of the few Asians throughout her middle and high school years, and she wrote an essay based on her mother’s story of coming to America that earned her a promise grant of free tuition to Augsburg College. Her goal is to pursue a career in the medical field that can help others in need.
Trung and Thi are Vietnamese immigrants who came to the US in 2003 when they were in their 40s with their two daughters. Hoping to provide their children better education and opportunity, the couple left their farm in Vietnam and rebuilt their new life in Minnesota due to family connection. Without higher education and with limited English, they managed to secure jobs and raised their own family. For more than a decade, Le Thi has been working at the Turkey Store, while Nguyen works at Foldcraft as a welder. They live in Faribault, Minnesota. Both of their daughters have now graduated from college. Nguyen enjoys gardening and working on his cars during his free time.
Sam Ouk came to the US at the age of 2 with his mother, after being born in Cambodia,. He is a Cambodian refugee and grew up in Rochester, Minnesota. He is currently the English/Language coordinator at Faribault public schools and resides in Faribault, Minnesota.
Josh Pelayo is a second generation Filipino-American and a student at St Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota, majoring in Mathematics. He is a member of the St Olaf Choir, enjoys sports, and hopes to be a data scientist in the future. Josh’s parents first came to the United States to pursue higher education individually; they eventually met in graduate school and later married and moved to Wisconsin where Josh and his elder brother were born. His family was one of the few Asian families in his hometown Whitewater, Wisconsin.
Ameeta Sony, who originally from Northern Thailand of South Asian descent, spent her childhood in both Thailand and India. After obtaining her Master’s degree in Bangkok, she taught at Chiang Mai University in Thailand. She first came to Northfield in 1998 as a visiting scholar to St. Olaf College. Two years later she moved to Northfield and has resided here ever since with her husband. She currently works with the city of Northfield in addition to tutoring Thai at her home.
Caroline Ticarro-Parker immigrated to America as a refugee, after leaving South Vietnam with her family as a young child during the Communist takeover in 1975. She grew up in Minnesota and received her college education in the Midwest. She is the founder of Catalyst Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to provide humanitarian aid to Vietnam and help communities in Southeast Asia to fight against human trafficking. Considered herself a feminist and an activist, Caroline is highly regarded as a leader of the Vietnamese-American community and the organizer of the Vietnamese Culture camps nationwide. She currently calls Northfield, Minnesota, home with her husband and two daughters.
Katherine Tegtmeyer Pak is a Political Science and Asian Studies professor at St Olaf College. Tegtmeyer Pak earned her M.A. and Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Chicago, and her B.A. in East Asian Studies and Political Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Between college and graduate school she worked at Toshiba Corporation’s Tokyo headquarters for two years.
Sunny Vuong is a student at St. Olaf College. After her parents immigrated from Vietnam to the US, they settled in the suburbs of Minnesota. Vuong grew up speaking Vietnamese and Cantonese; English is her third language. She activily participates in St. Olaf’’s VOICE (Vietnamese Organization: Inspiring Cultural Engagement). Vuong places great importance on her culture and family as well as enjoys helping out at the Buddhist temples during her free time.
