Page 11 - 2020 Annual Awards Celebration
P. 11

2020 OUTSTANDING SERVICE AWARD WINNERS
Sothea Phea Poch
Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services
Advocate Award
Sothea Phea Poch was born and raised on a family farm in a remote, rural part of Cambodia. When he was fourteen years old in 1975, the Communists took over the country and his family lost everything. Sothea spent almost four years performing forced labor for the Khmer Rouge, working from 3 A.M. until 9 P.M with only a short break for lunch. Many people starved to death or were executed for not working hard enough and for political reasons. Thus, education was not an option for him.
In 1979 Sothea escaped with his mother and sisters to a refugee camp in Thailand. While in the refugee camp, his family was assisted by humanitarian organizations and UN workers. Sothea appreciated the humanitarian assistance and later volunteered with emergency relief agencies such as Save the Children and World Education. These experiences have led him to believe that it is an honor to help people who are in need of assistance and that education is the only way to enhance his ability to help others.
In 1984 he came to the United States as a refugee from Cambodia. He graduated from Augsburg University, Minneapolis, Minnesota, with double majors in Social Work and French and a minor in Sociology. Right after college, he worked for Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services as a paralegal serving low-income and disadvantaged clients statewide in the areas of immigration, public benefit, housing, family law, and consumer law until he attended law school.
In 1999 he graduated from Hamline University School of Law and returned to work for Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services right after law school. Sothea has spent his time working for the Immigration Unit in the areas of family reunification, adjustment, naturalization, crime victim, and other immigration-related cases.
  


























































































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