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Dr. Xa Xiong: Alumnus of the Year

March 01, 2017 - 3 minute read


Dr. Xa Xiong: Alumnus of the Year

Xa Xiong ’91, CUI’s alumnus of the year for 2017, came to the U.S. from Laos as a refugee, learned English rapidly and graduated from Christ College (now Concordia University Irvine) to become a medical doctor. In 2016, he was named Wisconsin Physician of the Year, chosen by the Wisconsin Academy of Family Physicians from among 3,000 family physicians.


“Christ College is the foundation of my education,” Xiong says. “I call it the impossible dream. God knew the future and put me in the right place, at the right time, with the right people. [Concordia Irvine] is the foundation of my education, of my leadership, of my finances, of my family and health.”


Xiong was born into the chaos of the Vietnam War, and his family fled to a refugee camp in Thailand where they lived for five years in cramped, disease-ridden conditions. There, Xiong made a vow while watching an older brother suffer with pneumonia. “The local hospital didn’t care about refugees,” says Xiong. “My brother died in front of my face. I was holding his hand and took an oath that, ‘God, if you give me the opportunity to become a physician, I’ll do my best so I can help people to return to their families.’”


Xiong also lost a sister at the camp. In 1980, he and his family were approved to immigrate to the U.S. They landed at John Wayne Airport and Xiong enrolled at a public school in Santa Ana. Six years later he graduated and “was looking for a college with a Christian environment because of my background” as a third generation Christian. He chose Christ College over UC Irvine because “it was the environment I knew would help me become someone in the future.” His goal: become a medical doctor.

Dr. Xa Xiong with Dr. Ebel and Dr. Moon


“I don’t think I would have made it through if I had gone to another school,” he says. “Dr. Ebel and Dr. James Rahn, my science professors, both sat with me and told me, ‘If you want to become a physician, we have the knowledge to help you reach your dreams.’ I took their word seriously.”

I don’t think I would have made it through if I had gone to another school.


He received his BA in biology and chemistry from Concordia in 1991, his Doctor of Chiropractic from the Los Angeles College of Chiropractic, and Doctor of Medicine from Spartan Health Sciences University School of Medicine. He completed his residency at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health in Appleton, Wisconsin, and has remained in that state ever since. Dr. Xiong is American Board Family Medicine Board Certified and practices as a family physician for people of all ages. He especially enjoys working with elderly people. His oldest patient is 102.


“I love receiving wisdom from elderly patients,” he says. “Each has their own story to be told. I learn so much from them to make life better.”


Xiong and his wife have five children; their oldest daughter just finished medical school. Today, Xiong says he is “living out my oath” to his deceased brother and hopes his story “inspires other people who are at their lowest point that anything is possible as long as you put your heart into it and have the Lord and the right people by your side.”


Xiong speaks at community events and medical conferences, and co-authored a chapter in the book Ethnicity and the Dementias— Working with Hmong American Families, which helps healthcare providers working with Hmong clients experiencing dementia. He also penned his autobiography, The Impossible Dream: of Memoirs a Refugee Boy. He is still using skills learned at CUI.


“Dr. Moon taught me that education is the essence of life. Dr. Krueger, president now, taught me how to write. Dr. Ebel and Dr. Rahn taught me to become a physician, and Dr. Robert Holst was one of my mentors,” he says. “I want to thank each professor for sharing their knowledge. It was a great place to be educated.”

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