Ms. Heng was born during the Civil War after the Cambodian Genocide that lasted for four years. Ms. Heng’s family survived the war and was sponsored to America in 1989. While waiting to come to America, Ms. Heng’s family stayed in refugee camps in Thailand then the Philippines. She came to America at age 9 and was English illiterate. She remembers being bullied at school by other students and her high school teacher who said she was going to be a shoplifter when she grows up. 

 

Through the adversities, Ms. Heng was determined to strive for the better giving herself no option but to thrive above all odds. She received several scholarships to go to Stanford University, University of the Pacific, and Walden University. She graduated from the University of the Pacific with a Bachelor’s Degree and a doctorate degree from Northcentral University.

 

Ms. Heng has lived in 5 different countries pursuing her passion and purpose in life to empower children globally. She taught students in Beijing, Abu Dhabi, and currently in her home town Stockton, California.

 

Ms. Heng dreams to open free boarding schools in Africa and Cambodia one day. Ms. Heng’s favorite quote by Walt Disney is, “You can dream, create, design and build the most wonderful place in the world, but it requires people to make the dream a reality.” Ms. Heng is grateful for her parents who fought to survive the Cambodian Civil War and brought her family to America to live the American Dream!