Paying Thao

What is your job title, and what will you be doing? 

  • As the Administrative Finance and Program Support, I assist with fiscal tasks such as preparing, processing, and tracking various vendor payments. Along with that, I also provide administrative and program support within the office environments and at events our institute hosts throughout the year.

Tell us about your education and/or work experience prior to joining the MNCWTA.

  • I graduated with a B.A. in English mainly because I've always had an interest in publication but eventually it turned into a curiosity for the process of publications and project management. Prior to this role, I worked part-time as an Administrative Assistant to a major gift officer at St. Catherine's University while also working full-time as a Toddler's Teacher's Assistant at Hand in Hand Christian Montessori. 

How long have you been working in your field?

  • This is actually my first experience in the financial field but will be about my third/fourth year as an admin.

What do you enjoy most about your work?

  • I absolutely love being able to assist each team of our organization because it's been enjoyable to see how each staff plays a role in the larger picture and how every task connects to each other's work.

What are you most passionate about professionally?

  • I will always prioritize communication and continuing to challenge myself to grow as an individual, employee, and coworker.

What are you most passionate about personally?

  • I am very passionate about dreams. I am a very visual dreamer and tend to dissect my dreams daily/weekly for any symbolism or potential story/movie ideas!

What are you surprisingly good at? (or what do you wish you were good at)?

  • I wish I was good at acting/martial arts - one of the many many many dreams I had as a dream was to be a stunt double or to star in an action movie!

What do you like to do outside of work? 

  • Oh gosh, where do I even start? Well one thing's for sure, I love to explore - exploring hidden gems in MN, a different country, or even a new instant ramen combination.

What else should we know about you? 

  • I am very competitive! I love video and board games during my free time and have always loved sports. I played in a flag football league for six years, participated in outdoor volleyball tournaments, and even did volleyball, soccer, and dodgeball intramurals in every college semester (if available). At one point I was even training myself to be a speed stacker (which was a very short lived dream).