May 09, 2019 at 11:09AM
When 5-year-old Lisa Keoborakot and her parents came to the U.S. from Laos, they had survived the horrors of the Vietnam War, which devastated much of Southeast Asia. Lisa Luangsomkham, as she now is know, teaches social studies and coaches badminton at Joliet Central.
She eventually came to Joliet as a result of a Catholic charity group that was determined to help these émigrés. Due to the hard work of her parents, she eventually became a student in the Farragut and Pershing elementary schools before going to Dirksen Junior High School and attending and eventually graduating from Joliet West in 1996.
She met her husband, Lone Luangsomkham, who was from Elgin, at JT West while they were both 15 years old. In June 1998 they got married in a Lao ceremony. Of their five kids, the first of three boys, Landon, was born in 1998 and the first of two girls, Lauryn, was born Sept. 8, 2000. The other children are Lillian, Lleyton and Lawson.
Lauryn won her first sectional badminton title and earned her second trip to state after winning in three sets against Oswego East's Crystal Hwang in the Lincoln-Way West Sectional singles finals on Saturday.
She is a product of Eisenhower and Washington Academies, which are in Joliet Public Schools District 86. She began her high school education in 2016 and is graduating May 31 from Joliet Central, where she also competed in cheerleading and helped the coed team to a seventh-place finish in the Competitive Cheerleading Coed Division.
She always has been involved with the school's ROTC program, and that helped her to a four-year Army ROTC National Scholarship at Lewis University, where she hopes to study biology and business. The passionate musician started with the Joliet area Suzuki Strings and now plays violin in the school's orchestra as the Concert Mistress. She also plays the piano.
Lauren also is involved as a youth leader in the Multicultural Education Outreach Foundation program.
"We're excited that we're building the program," said Lisa Luangsomkham, who is a Joliet West graduate. "Badminton is like chess since the girls need to know what their opponents are doing, and you have to be prepared for placement. This is probably one of the most physical cardio sports that's out there, and it's mental. Oswego East's Crystal Hwang is a sophomore, but she won the first set, but if you go three sets against Lauryn you're done since she doesn't lose in three. But that's who Lauren is, and she has that mental mindset."
When 5-year-old Lisa Keoborakot and her parents came to the U.S. from Laos, they had survived the horrors of the Vietnam War, which devastated much of Southeast Asia. Lisa Luangsomkham, as she now is know, teaches social studies and coaches badminton at Joliet Central.
She eventually came to Joliet as a result of a Catholic charity group that was determined to help these émigrés. Due to the hard work of her parents, she eventually became a student in the Farragut and Pershing elementary schools before going to Dirksen Junior High School and attending and eventually graduating from Joliet West in 1996.
She met her husband, Lone Luangsomkham, who was from Elgin, at JT West while they were both 15 years old. In June 1998 they got married in a Lao ceremony. Of their five kids, the first of three boys, Landon, was born in 1998 and the first of two girls, Lauryn, was born Sept. 8, 2000. The other children are Lillian, Lleyton and Lawson.
Lauryn won her first sectional badminton title and earned her second trip to state after winning in three sets against Oswego East's Crystal Hwang in the Lincoln-Way West Sectional singles finals on Saturday.
She is a product of Eisenhower and Washington Academies, which are in Joliet Public Schools District 86. She began her high school education in 2016 and is graduating May 31 from Joliet Central, where she also competed in cheerleading and helped the coed team to a seventh-place finish in the Competitive Cheerleading Coed Division.
She always has been involved with the school's ROTC program, and that helped her to a four-year Army ROTC National Scholarship at Lewis University, where she hopes to study biology and business. The passionate musician started with the Joliet area Suzuki Strings and now plays violin in the school's orchestra as the Concert Mistress. She also plays the piano.
Lauren also is involved as a youth leader in the Multicultural Education Outreach Foundation program.
"We're excited that we're building the program," said Lisa Luangsomkham, who is a Joliet West graduate. "Badminton is like chess since the girls need to know what their opponents are doing, and you have to be prepared for placement. This is probably one of the most physical cardio sports that's out there, and it's mental. Oswego East's Crystal Hwang is a sophomore, but she won the first set, but if you go three sets against Lauryn you're done since she doesn't lose in three. But that's who Lauren is, and she has that mental mindset."