Two C&I alumni receive CEHD Distinguished Alumni Awards

The College of Education and Human Development (CEHD) recently celebrated its 2025 Distinguished Alumni Awards with a ceremony to recognize the achievements of 11 alumni, including two from the Department of Curriculum and Instruction. Supenn Harrison (MA '74) and Linda Wallenberg  (MEd '89) were both recipients of the award this year.

Supenn Harrison

Came to Minnesota from Thailand to earn her master’s in art education, met her late husband, and stayed. When her job search wasn’t fruitful, she sold egg rolls at the State Fair, and later opened a restaurant on Lake St. She opened St. Paul’s Sawatdee, the area’s first Thai restaurant, in 1983. Forty years later, in addition to feeding tens of thousands of everyday Minnesotans, Sawatdee has fed the Rolling Stones, Neil Diamond, Julia Child, Paul Wellstone, and many others. It is even rumored that she invented the one-to-five-chili scale. Supenn is an author known for her contributions to ethnic cuisine literature, particularly Thai culinary traditions and recipes. She is a supporter of Buddhist Temples, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, and of us, CEHD. Today, Supenn’s daughters primarily run the business, which includes four restaurants and a food truck.

Linda Wallenberg 

Or Wally as her students know her, is in her 50th year of teaching in Minnesota. During college, she studied at Uppsala University in Sweden. She became the first certified Swedish teacher in Minnesota, and later earned her master’s in English education. Wally joined Eden Prairie High School in 1977 as an English and Swedish teacher and head gymnastics coach, and for the past 44 summers has been both the director and a Swedish teacher at Concordia College’s Swedish Language Village. She has been recognized many times throughout her career, including 2025 Minnesota Teacher of the Year and awarded the Royal Order of the Polar Star from His Majesty King Carl XVI Gustaf, King of Sweden. Wally has seen many changes in the classroom, from ditto machines to online learning, but her commitment to her students has never faltered.