Amarinh Kongmanivong

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“My father worked for World Relief aiding new families with their transition to America. Our family of six helped out in any way possible. Growing up in my household was not glamorous, but rather very humbling.”

  • Program: 2011 Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship Recipient
  • Hometown: San Diego, CA

Biography

Profile: Amarinh Kongmanivong was born in Laos and fled with her family to a refugee camp in Thailand.  She barely remembers the ordeal but does remember the joy her family felt when they were sponsored by an American in San Diego.  Recalling that she had a diverse upbringing, “our sponsors taught my father English and put him through school.”  Amarinh’s dad eventually became a Protestant minister in North Carolina and spends most of his time working with refugees coming into the U.S. After high school Amarinh joined the Air Force and spent eight years in the service.  She calls her Air Force service the chapter of her life “where I learned never to give up and to always have integrity in all that I do.”  Amarinh experienced a lot of soul-searching and weathered many storms over the past decade – in addition to her ten year marriage ending in divorce, she was faced with being a single mom. “Being a single mother of three beautiful boys my only option was not to survive, but to succeed.”  And succeed she has...in college at Randolph Community College where she earned a near perfect 3.9 GPA and in raising her boys.

Inspiration:  Amarinh says that the most influential teacher, mentor, and friend she has is Susan Shaw at Randolph CC.  “Ms. Shaw saw something special in me. She says I have a talent that could not be taught and if I were to combine this talent higher education, I will be able to do something powerful for my generation.”  After her two-year stint at Randolph, Amarinh is “now in the process of moving to the School of Art Institute of Chicago and I owe it all to Ms. Shaw...she saw something special in me.”

Aspiration:  Amarinh’s goal is to earn a Bachelors of Fine Arts with a focus on Designed Objects. “My ultimate goal is to gain a Master's Degree in Designed Objects. The reason for this pursuit is much greater than me. I want to help lead, educate and introduce our community to a better way of life; a better way of living. Designing ‘true’ sustainable product is a relatively new field however I want to be one of the first to help lead the way.”

Making a Difference: Amarinh’s portfolio truly captures who she is and what she wants to accomplish.  In the summer of 2010 she met with admissions officers at the Chicago-based school she’ll be attending and presented her portfolio.  Amarinh was advised that she needed to add a piece that was “deeper and more personal.”  Amarinh took the advice to heart and worked all winter on a final portfolio piece that she titled: “it’s complicated”.  This non-objective piece incorporates the use of ten boxes of sewing pins, six feet of clear elastic string, contains many images and sketches and it is all contained in a 3’ by ½’ by ½’ plexi-glass box.

Accolades:  She was honorably discharged from the United States Air Force and was awarded a Merit Scholarship from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

Interesting Fact:  Amarinh eats everything with rice.

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