Once a war refugee, Lisa Kuong has found her calling in nursing while also preserving her culture

WILLIAMSTOWN, New Jersey (WPVI) -- For seven years, Independence Blue Cross has honored some of the area's outstanding nurses in the Celebrate Caring campaign.

One of this year's winners has strength and positivity forged from incredible hardship.

Lisa Kuong, R.N., was a little girl during Cambodia's brutal Khmer Rouge regime.

"They would kill anybody that were educated, talented, or any politicians, teachers," says the Williamstown, New Jersey resident.

Her father was an artist and had to hide his identity. When Vietnam invaded Cambodia, the family fled.

"We walked from village to village. We just tried to escape the crossfires," Lisa recalled.

After four years in a Thai refugee camp, they came to the United States and Lisa dove into the education the Khmer Rouge denied girls.

"All I know is I was good in science and math," she says.

Lisa found her calling in nursing - in pediatrics, trauma care, and now on the PICC team at Jefferson University hospital.

"Which stands for Peripherally Inserted Central Catheters. We place specialized IVs for people who are going to be getting treatments," explains Lisa's co-worker Liz Neuhaus-Booth.

Liz and Lisa have worked together for years.

"She's energetic, she's friendly, she's the go-to person when you need assistance," she says.

Lisa isn't just devoted to nursing, but she's also devoted to promoting Cambodian culture.

She founded Khmer Performing Arts and Culture, or K-PAC, passing on the music and dance she learned from her father.

"People don't know Cambodian. they assume everyone is Chinese. So I get a little upset about that," Lisa explains.

It also reaches young Cambodians who are first-generation Americans.

"Just the first generation, they already start to forget how to even speak the language," she says. "Some don't even want to try."

"She's a healer, and I don't know that she knows that about herself," Liz says.

The Sunshine Awards are named for their creator, Paula Sunshine, the late Independence Blue Cross marketing chief.

When Liz heard about the awards, she was determined to nominate Lisa. She even called IBX to ask when nominations would open.

"I'm happy to brag about her, I really am, because she won't do it about herself," Liz says.

Lisa is now bringing health care into K-PAC, with screenings and education, to help the Cambodian community get the care it needs.