Our mission is to provide resources and support for the local Asian, South Asian, Pacific Islander American community, and increase the visibility and representation of the Asian American diaspora in Evanston’s civic, cultural and community spaces through the arts.
Boon Lieng
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Born 1897 in Bangkok, Siam (now Thailand), Boon Lieng came to Evanston to attend Northwestern. He was one of the earliest students from Siam to came to the U.S. to pursue undergraduate education. Beginning in the late 1890s, the Siamese government chose a handful of the country’s “best and brightest” to study abroad, all expenses paid by the King (known as “King’s Scholarships.”) After earning their degrees, they returned home. In 1918, a total of 15 students from Siam came to the U.S. to study. Lieng graduated in 1921.
While he was at NU, Lieng was treasurer of the Cosmopolitan Club, a campus group for foreign students. est. 1912 at NU, part of a National Society.​​