Be the first: Success stories from Minnesota's trailblazers

Be the first: Success stories from Minnesota's trailblazers

On Thursday, October 17, join Sahan Journal and MPR News for a free community conversation, live at the Saint Paul Neighborhood Network in St. Paul. Come hear from community leaders about how they overcame obstacles to become the Firsts in their family, neighborhood, or community to achieve a special success. We’ll also be serving free food from a few of our favorite immigrant-owned restaurants.

Are you the first person in your family to graduate from college? The first to run a marathon? The first to write a book or plant a tree?

Many of us who grew up in immigrant families feel especially driven to try something new. Over the past decade, communities of color in Minnesota have overcome obstacles to achieve amazing successes in education, business, sports, and culture.

On October 17, we’re hosting a Sahan Community Live and North Star Journey Live event to celebrate our achievements, both big and small.

We’re assembling an inspiring group of Firsts: people who come from a range of immigrant communities in Minnesota. What do they share in common? They’ve all achieved success across a variety of professional fields, including sports, farming, media, politics, and publishing.

With this event, we aim to highlight the unique rewards and challenges that come with being the first to embark on a new journey. What traits does it take to break free from tradition and how things have always been done?

We'll discuss the pressure to succeed, the fear of failure, and the sense of responsibility to represent an entire community's hopes and ambitions.

We hope to inspire you to embark on something new and celebrate the path and the community that brought you here. Please join us!

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Program schedule:

6:00-6:30 p.m. Meet-and-greet with speakers (not all speakers will attend)

6:30-7:45 p.m. Speakers and performance (free dinner included)

Hosts:

• Alberto Gomez, digital producer at Sahan Journal 
• Nina Moini, an editor at MPR News

Speakers: 

• Chenue Her is the first Hmong man to become a TV news anchor. 
• Michael Vang is one of the first Hmong soccer players to play professionally in the United States. 
• Remona Htoo is one of the first Karen children’s book authors in Minnesota. 
• Rodrigo Cala is the first in his family to buy a farm in the United States. 
• Zaynab Mohamed, the first person under age 26 to win a seat in the Minnesota Senate.

This event is free and open to the public. We’ll also be serving free food from a few of our favorite immigrant-owned restaurants. You can attend in person and park for free in the large parking lot in front of Saint Paul Neighborhood Network (right next to Lake Monster Brewing). Event registration is strongly encouraged.

Can’t make it in person? Watch the livestream on Sahan Journal’s YouTube page.

Thanks to our media partner the Saint Paul Neighborhood Network for helping us share and broadcast this conversation.

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Host or Publisher Sahan Journal