For May Vang Swanson, Saint Paul has always been home. She grew up on the East Side, where her parents ran a grocery store for nearly a decade. “At the end of our block was our pediatrician. Across the street was a Hmong-owned laundromat,” she remembers. “My parents were pillars in the community for a long time. Just knowing our store was part of that—it means a lot.”
She attended a small Lutheran school across the street, where her family was the only Hmong household. Those early experiences of being “the only” stayed with her. “It was easy to feel invisible, like my culture wasn’t acknowledged,” she says. “I want my own kids to grow up saying, ‘I am Hmong,’ and to be proud of it.”
Choosing to Teach in Saint Paul
Grounded in her Saint Paul roots and interested in working directly with young people, May chose to pursue teaching. During her student teaching at Washington Technology Magnet, formerly Arlington Senior High School, two Hmong students told her they had never met a Hmong math teacher before. “That’s when it clicked,” May says. “Representation matters. In a district as large as St. Paul, the second largest in Minnesota, you can still count the number of Hmong high school and middle school math teachers on one hand.”
Beyond Academics: Meeting Community Mental Health Needs
For May, teaching is about more than math. It is about caring for her students as whole people. “In our Hmong community, mental health is still such a big need,” she explains. “Families are really good about meeting academic and basic needs, but the social and emotional side often isn’t there. How do we navigate mental health? How do we navigate asking for help? Those are the questions we’re facing.”
That is why she sees Wilder’s role in St. Paul schools as so valuable. “I didn’t even know Wilder was in schools until recently,” she admits. “But their culturally responsive mental health practitioners for Hmong and Karen students are such a gift. The newer wave of immigrant families is facing challenges my parents didn’t, like technology. Kids now are learning to navigate iPads and phones right away. Wilder gives families tools without judgment. That’s powerful.”
Raising the Next Generation in Saint Paul
Today, May has been teaching math in St. Paul for a decade, now at Txuj Ci HMong Language and Culture upper campus, a Hmong immersion school. Her own children are enrolled in Saint Paul Public Schools as well. Her four-year-old will start kindergarten at the Txuj Ci Hmong Language and Culture lower campus this fall. For May, choosing St. Paul schools is about more than academics; it is about making sure her children are surrounded by peers, teachers, and programs that celebrate and support their culture.
Partnering for Good
Her work in the classroom connects directly to her support for Wilder. May has seen firsthand how students thrive when their social and emotional needs are supported alongside academics.
For May, it is about giving back to the East Side community where her parents once built a business, ensuring students see themselves reflected in their teachers, and raising her children in schools that affirm their culture. Her connection to Wilder goes beyond the classroom. She continues to invest in the support that makes a difference for her students and neighbors.
“This is where I want to continue supporting, to be part of the change,” she says. “No matter where I go, Saint Paul will always be home.”
