Na Eng, an award-winning journalist and humanitarian, was inducted into the Johnson High School Hall of Fame on April 15. The ceremony marked a historic moment as Eng became the first Asian-American and the second youngest individual to receive the honor.
Eng’s journey to the Hall of Fame began when she and her family fled Cambodia’s killing fields when she was just five years old. They found refuge on the East Side of St. Paul, where she attended Johnson High School.
Eng’s former teacher and principal, Michael Thompson, recalled her as a student who had ‘that ‘Minnesota nice thing down, but had a resolve of iron behind it.’ Her determination and perseverance led Thompson to nominate her for the Hall of Fame 29 years after she graduated.
Raised by a single mother among seven siblings, Eng credits her upbringing with instilling in her a profound sense of perseverance and compassion. After traveling the world for her journalism work, Eng returned home to St. Paul, to family, and to ‘the idea of a village, of people that I benefited from and who guided me as a young person.’
After graduating from Johnson, Eng studied at Columbia University and earned the Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans, which funded her graduate studies. She also received a Fulbright Fellowship, which gave her the opportunity to produce and direct a documentary in Zimbabwe.
Eng has had a long and distinguished career as a journalist for NBC, PBS, and CNBC. She has won several prestigious awards, including an Emmy Award and an Edward R. Murrow Award. In addition to her journalism work, Eng has served on the boards of several nonprofit organizations, including the Friends of the St. Paul Public Library and the national NAACP Foundation, and held an executive role at the McKnight Foundation.
Eng dedicated her induction to the Johnson High School Hall of Fame to her single mother, but also expressed her deep respect for her teachers and community. Her induction serves as a powerful and visual representation for the multicultural students at Johnson High School, where over 50% of the student body is Asian-American.
