UWAA Board of Trustees member Assunta Ng was born and raised in Hong Kong, where she attended Sacred Heart Canossian College, a high school taught by Italian Catholic nuns. Although she wasn't a diligent student, she realized that those who do poorly on the final public exam often have difficulty finding anything but menial work, so she set to studying. She notes that in Hong Kong, there is not much emphasis on fostering the progress of each child; the ones who show obvious talent are doted upon, while the others are left to their own devices. However, after setting a goal to excel on the public exam, she impressed both her family and school administrators with her high score.

Although Assunta had proven that she was college material, she was raised in a very traditional Chinese family, with parents who only encouraged her two brothers to attend college. Undaunted, Assunta shocked them by not only asserting her will to go to college as well, but to do so in the United States. She gradually overcame their objections by promising that if they'd help support her in her first year, she would take care of the rest.

And that she did. After spending her first year at a small college in Oregon, she discovered the University of Washington as she passed by it on the freeway en route to Vancouver, B.C. She was intrigued by its beauty, and on the way home, she stopped to take a closer look. It was the spring of 1971, the cherry trees were in full bloom, and it was love at first sight. Assunta petitioned for a transfer as a sophomore, and after persisting, it was granted.

Assunta then moved into Hansee Hall, which was a women-only dormitory at the time, and devoted all her energy to studying, as her goal was to earn a scholarship. She was very interested in political science and history, and soon became involved with writing for The Daily, where she made such a name for herself that she received job offers based on her work.

She graduated with a B.A. in International Studies in 1974, and went on to teach social studies to immigrants at Mercer Junior High. Within a few years, her ambitious side prompted her to go back to school to pursue a Master's degree in speech communication, which she completed in 1979. By this time she had taught 4 years and had 2 sons, and had become aware of a glaring dearth of information available to the Chinese community. "I had to get a San Francisco newspaper to get any Chinese news," she noted, and thus founded the Seattle Chinese Post in 1982, followed by the Northwest Asian Weekly in 1983.

Assunta became involved in volunteering at the UWAA in 2001, when executive director John Buller invited her to get involved. "I'd known John from way back, and he's a very committed person. It's very hard to say no to John," she noted with a laugh.

In addition to her volunteer work, Assunta is currently organizing an appreciation banquet for Governor Gary Locke at the Meydenbauer Center on the evening of Saturday, October 9. Locke, the only Asian American governor in the country, has announced that he won't be seeking a 3rd term, and Assunta has spearheaded this event as a way to thank him for his service, and to give back. The event will raise scholarship money for both WSU and UW, where proceeds will benefit students in the Educational Opportunity Program, the Dan Evans School of Public Policy, and the communications department. The event will be hosted by political cartoonist David Horsey and former Seattle City Councilwoman Martha Choe, and University president Mark Emmert will serve as honorary chair.

Although Assunta has had great success pursuing her varied and ambitious goals, she counts motherhood as her greatest accomplishment. She feels extremely fortunate to live in a society where a woman can have children and a career at the same time, and is extremely proud of her two wonderful sons, ages 24 and 26. In her limited free time, Assunta enjoys arts and crafts, such as creating gift baskets for auction items, and making Christmas tree ornaments. She also likes to hike and travel.

Thanks, Assunta, for all your great work with the UWAA and in the community!

For more information about the Gary Locke scholarship fundraising banquet, go to www.nwasianweekly.com. To buy a tickets, please contact: Jet@nwasianweekly.com, or call 206/223-0623.