Struggles and accomplishments  

When Seneyakone arrived in the United States in 1995, she sat in a classroom with American-born fifth-graders. She couldn’t speak a word of English.

“It was tough,” she said. “It took me three years to speak up. I was a loner all those years.”

Three years later, English wasn’t an issue for Seneyakone. She had made many friends and excelled in her academic performance as well as sports activities.

When she began Patrick Henry High School in Minneapolis, however, Seneyakone started to feel like she was trapped between two different cultures, Asian and American.

“At home, I lived the Asian culture: I was expected to cook, to clean, to babysit and work for the family,” she said. “I wasn’t able to hang out as much as my American friends did.”

Amy Johnson Perkins, Seneyakone’s former high school French teacher of three years, described her as a dedicated, focused and accomplished person.    

“She worked so hard in school despite the fact that she had a lot of family obligations,” Perkins said. “She was a really accomplished athlete; she loved playing sports, even though that wasn’t necessarily something that her family encouraged her to do.”

Perkins, who has known Seneyakone for more than 15 years, added: “Thouni fulfilled her family obligations while at the same time really kind of taking advantage of the things that American kids have available to them, even when she didn’t have somebody behind her, encouraging her.”  

With her outstanding academic performance, community service and extracurricular activities, Seneyakone was named a Wallin Scholar in 2003. In the same year, she got accepted to the University of Minnesota, where she graduated in 2007 with a degree in global studies with a focus on Southeast Asian political economy.

“Graduating from college wasn’t easy,” she recalled. “My family wanted me to work. I decided to quit school.” But Seneyakone didn’t leave college, thanks to Rebecca Wallin, then executive director of Wallin Education Partners, and her program adviser who supported her when she was most vulnerable.    

Seneyakone added: “If it wasn’t for Rebecca and this scholarship program, I wouldn’t have been where I’m today.”

And she would probably not have had what it takes to empower those in Laos and to pursue the wishes of her grandmother, who passed away in 2006.    

Run Laos Challenge

Seneyakone isn’t waiting until she moves back home to begin the fight against human trafficking in Laos. She’s already involved in the battle with several other Asia-Americans — who are also anti-human trafficking advocates — from different states in the United States.

The team is organizing Run Laos Challenge, a marathon event featuring three female runners, whose nationalities include Lao and Hmong. The three-day event, which will take place in Laos, is set to begin on Nov. 1.

“The purpose of Run Laos Challenge is to promote a greater awareness of human trafficking in Laos,” Seneyakone said, “and to financially support programs with shelter, education and sufficiently prepare survivors for a renewed life.”

Sponsored by The VillageRun Foundation in collaboration with VFI, Run Laos Challenge is expected to raise $50,000.

Seneyakone is hosting a party to raise awareness for Run Laos Challenge at 8 p.m. Aug. 24 at Sushi Tango, 3001 Hennepin Ave., Minneapolis.