Lao Sue Hang ’21
Scholarships played a big role in helping Lao Sue Hang ’21 afford the Saint John’s experience – an experience he said has allowed him to explore new frontiers and pave the way for future ambitions.
The communication major – who hopes to pursue a career in marketing – has been deeply involved in campus life during his time in Collegeville.
For the past year-and-a-half, he has worked in the CSB/SJU Student Activities and Leadership Development Office as an orientation coordinator and marketing manager. He has been part of groups like the First Generation Organization, Hmong American Involving Students and the Asia Club as well.
“I’ve become more culturally aware during my time here,” said Hang, whose parents emigrated to the U.S. from Thailand before he was born to give their children a better life. “Just because you’re a person of color doesn’t necessarily mean you’re culturally aware. I’ve grown a lot in that area since I’ve been at Saint John’s.
“It’s become a home-away-from home. The education and resources here have helped set me up in a place where I feel I can accomplish the goals I’ve set for myself when it comes to a career path.”
“Lao Sue is an incredible student-leader,” added Lacey Solheid, associate director for programming and orientation in the SALD Office at CSB/SJU. “He’s constantly thinking about ways we can better serve our students. And he brings a perspective to our office that we didn’t have before.
“He is able to say ‘Hey, did you think of this?’ And we can say ‘No, we hadn’t. Let’s make sure that’s included.’ He’s such a big asset to our department.”
Those skills are an asset Saint John’s would have missed out on were it not for financial aid and scholarships. Hang receives the Fr. Kevin McDonough Endowed Scholarship, the Wegleitner Family Scholarship, a President’s Scholarship and an Intercultural LEAD scholarship.
“Those scholarships didn’t just help financially, but mentally as well,” he said. “They took away some of the stress and allowed me to focus on academics.”
But that still hasn’t made Hang’s path an easy one. He’s had to weather more than his share of adversity and obstacles.
“He’s one of the most resilient students I have ever come across,” Solheid said. “He’s taken everything life has thrown at him and he’s been able to continually keep pushing forward.”
Lao Sue Hang ’21
Perhaps the biggest blow came in the summer of 2019 when his father George died unexpectedly at age 63, just three days after his birthday when Hang – who was working on campus at CSB/SJU at the time – had last spoken to him via FaceTime.
His father’s death filled him with grief and brought on additional financial hardship, forcing him to take out additional loans to remain enrolled.
“That was an emotionally draining time for me,” he recalls. “I was probably in my darkest spot ever. Maybe the lowest point in my life was walking through the airport (to fly home to Oklahoma to be with his family) and going through TSA all by myself. I didn’t want to cry in front of complete strangers. But I just kept thinking about how I was now going to have to live my life without my Dad there.
“I ended up throwing a blanket over my head and crying my eyes out in the waiting area by my boarding gate. It felt like a piece of myself had been ripped away.”
Hang said the community he has found at CSB/SJU – especially in the SALD Office – was supportive in his time of need, helping him arrange transportation home and offering needed encouragement and comfort.
“It meant a lot to have that support there,” he said.
In March, Hang again had to adjust to new circumstances when he and his fellow students had to leave campus suddenly after the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic cancelled in-person classes and forced them to finish their spring semester classes online.
Hang returned to Oklahoma, but was forced to leave many of his possessions behind in his dorm in Tommy Hall.
Through it all, he’s been able to draw on the experience he gained growing up when his family wasn’t always able to stay in one place very long.
Lao Sue Hang ’21
As a freshman in high school, he lived in Owasso, Oklahoma. But the family then moved to Brooklyn Park, Minnesota and he began his sophomore year at Robbinsdale Armstrong High School. Within weeks, however, they found a new home in Oakdale and he transferred to Tartan Senior High School.
They then settled on the east side of St. Paul, where he attended Johnson Senior High School as a junior and senior and found a supportive group of faculty members and students whom he said he remains close with today.
But his family has since relocated back to Oklahoma while he remained in Minnesota attending SJU.
“It was an emotional roller coaster at times,” he said. “My parents weren’t fluent in English and they had to find ways to pay for food and rent and just provide a life for our family. So I had to learn to adjust to a lot of new situations.
“It wasn’t easy to meet new people and make friends. But I had to force myself to open up. A phrase I try to live by is to be comfortable being uncomfortable. I had to make the choice to be active and to get more involved in things.”
It’s an approach he has continued to follow at SJU, as those who have gotten to know him will attest.
“Lao Sue takes initiative but is also attentive to those working with him,” said Trish Doran, associate director for finances and operations in the SALD Office at CSB/SJU. “He is an empathetic listener who nurtures relationships. He is also a mindful and non-judgmental person who is determined to have an authentic impact on those around him.
“Family is very important to Lao Sue, but his family lives in another state, so he has had to independently navigate most aspects of higher education. As difficult as that can be, he has never given up. He has balanced being there for his family during times of loss, without giving up on his goal to get an education. If you are fortunate enough to know Lao Sue, you cannot help but be impressed by his poise, his kindness and his resilience.”
Lao Sue Hang ’21
“He’s such a force,” added Jen Kramer, an associate professor of communication at CSB/SJU. “He has such conviction in his heart and he’s willing to share that in situations both in and out of class.
“I’ve heard him talk about things in class and help his fellow students understand in a way that they never would have had it come from me. He’s been a huge influence on his peers in a way that I’m not sure he’s even aware of.”
Hang hopes to remain in Minnesota post-graduation, possibly settling in the Twin Cities as he begins his career. But wherever the future takes him, he said CSB/SJU will always remain a big part of his life.
“Being a Johnnie isn’t just about a title,” he said. “It’s about making a difference in the world. And that’s a mission that will always be important to me.”