Vilaya “Ling” Sirivong set her sights on NIU at the age of 16.

She knew then she wanted to be the first in her family not only to go to college, but to study abroad. Thousands of miles away in her homeland of Laos, she applied for the university’s Southeast Asia Youth Leadership Program.

The program brings 50 high school students from Southeast Asia to NIU for a three-week leadership program.

Always with an eye on opportunity, Sirivong knew the program could lead to other things, perhaps even a scholarship.

She didn’t get in.

So she did what she’s always done. She used the setback to fuel her determination.

“I spent a whole year improving myself,” said Sirivong, who worked on her interview skills.

“Make yourself ready,” she told herself, “so when opportunity comes, you can just grab it.”

A year later, she was accepted into the program. That lead to a SEAFellow scholarship, which includes a four-year tuition-waiver to attend NIU.

It’s been one opportunity after the next since then. And Sirivong has grabbed them all.

Now 22 years old, she’s set to graduate this spring as NIU’s 2022 Student Lincoln Laureate, an honor reserved for the university’s top senior. The Lincoln Academy Student Laureate Award is given to an outstanding senior from each of Illinois’ four-year universities for excellence in both curricular and extracurricular activities.

President Lisa Freeman will host a meet and greet reception on Oct. 25 at NIU for Sirivong and fellow nominees.

“NIU made it happen for me,” Sirivong said. “To be a Huskie, I think it means you’re going to have many opportunities to show who you are, to help other people and to contribute to the community that is very diverse. You have a place to stay within that community and can become anything you want to be.”

‘Strong, determined, compassionate and resilient’

Earning a bachelor’s degree in management with an emphasis on leadership, Sirivong not only has evolved as a leader both inside and outside of the classroom, she’s empowered others to lead and succeed through her numerous volunteer activities.

And that’s what sets her apart, say those who nominated her for the Lincoln Laureate Award, as well as those who’ve gotten to know her through the years.

“She is supportive, inspirational, encouraging, empathetic, charitable and wise,” wrote Jon Briscoe, chair of the Department of Management. “She is strong, determined, compassionate and resilient. She will fight for others, even the downtrodden, and while she is determined to be successful, this success never comes on the back of others, but for others.”

Among countless accomplishments through the years, Sirivong formed the YakBork Project in Laos in 2020 to offer free scholarship application workshops and other resources to underprivileged Laotian students.

As a young volunteer in rural areas, she saw poverty firsthand. She wants to help others learn to express themselves and their stories, just as she had to learn to do to get to where she is today.

“My main goal is to create an educational center for underprivileged children in Laos so they can do what they love, but still make a living from it,” she said.

She feels fortunate to have the support of her parents, who sent her to a good school in Laos and encouraged her along the way.

As passionate as she is about education, she pursued NIU’s College of Business, knowing she’d need management and leadership skills to run a school one day.

“I’ve never been so sure about anything as my major,” she said. “People join people, not organizations. If they respect you and believe in you, they’ll follow you no matter where you go… I’m so scared to say it, but I do want to be a CEO of a company one day, preferably in the education sector.”

Alone, an ocean away from her homeland and her parents, she also felt a bit scared to say out loud the vow she made to herself when she first came to NIU in the fall of 2019: “One day, I’m going to be the Lincoln Laureate.”

She still has trouble believing she won. She cried when she first saw the email.

“I was like, ‘This is not real. Are you sure it’s me?’ I just keep reading it,” she said.

Sirivong had heard about the award when she read a story about NIU’s 2018 Student Lincoln Laureate, I Younan An. Like Sirivong, An’s NIU journey began in the Southeast Asian Youth Leadership program.

“When I read about him, I felt so inspired, so impressed with all the things he’d done,” she remembered.

Achievements ‘speak for themselves’

She’s built quite a resume at NIU.

Now working as a community advisor and as an intern for a global higher education software company, she’s taken on leadership roles NIU’s Experiential Learning Center, University Honors, the Southeast Asia Club, the National Society of Leadership and Success, NIU Circle K International and NIU’s chapter of Camp Kesem. A free summer camp, Camp Kesem provides a utopic place for children whose parents are battling cancer.

In the College of Business, Sirivong serves as a member of the dean’s Student Advisory Board, as well as president of the Management and Business Administration Student Advisory Board and as a mentor in both the Management Mentoring Program and the Student-Faculty Link Mentoring Program.

“She is a leader in our department and is seen as an important partner who helps us support our students,” wrote Dr. Bethany Cockburn, assistant professor in the Department of Management, who taught Sirivong in a Managerial Negotiations class.

Sirivong counts mentoring among her proudest moments.

“That’s where I can make a difference and impact with students’ lives,” she said.

While taking on a myriad of professional roles and volunteer work, she’s maintained a 4.0 grade point average in her major and 3.98 GPA overall.

To juggle everything, she created her own set of rules—at least seven hours of sleep a night and limited television. She also said she took advantage of NIU’s resources, many of which she first learned about through the Southeast Asia Youth Leadership Program.

“That program alone changed my life so much,” she said. “It helped me to see myself as a leader for the first time. With that whole experience, I’m just really thankful for NIU.”

Believed to be the first student from Laos to study at NIU, Sirivong always has stood out, said Dr. Judy Ledgerwood, director of the Center for Southeast Studies.

All at the center are beyond proud of her achievements, congratulating her with messages of praise.

“Your energy knows no bounds and your capabilities are beyond your years,” wrote Rachael Skog, outreach coordinator and undergraduate student for the Center for Southeast Asian Studies.

“You always deliver perfection, and with two things that always surprise me. First, you often are not asked to do the things you do, but rather take initiative. And, second, you never broadcast all your accomplishments, don’t take the victory laps you definitely could and maybe should, but stand assuredly, letting your achievements speak for themselves. You are a model of confidence.”

Other finalists for the 2022 NIU Student Lincoln Laureate included Grant Goral (history and political science), Ayleen Ramos (communicative disorders), Megan Rault (music), Thuwebat Adebayo (chemistry: pre-med), Abigail Deewaard (anthropology and sociology), Alyssa Pincuspy (communication) and D. Marie Harris (English).

Media Contact: Jami Kunzer

About NIU

Northern Illinois University is a student-centered, nationally recognized public research university, with expertise that benefits its region and spans the globe in a wide variety of fields, including the sciences, humanities, arts, business, engineering, education, health and law. Through its main campus in DeKalb, Illinois, and education centers for students and working professionals in Chicago, Naperville, Oregon and Rockford, NIU offers more than 100 areas of study while serving a diverse and international student body.