Hello!

I’m Dr. Tammy

“My mission is to provide the crucial Advising often missing in high schools and colleges, empowering students to find their pathway to a successful career.”

PhD in Education - Leadership Studies

PhD in Education - Leadership Studies

I would like to begin by saying that I have used education to move forward in life. I’d like to share My Journey with you.

I distinctly remember the beginning of my college journey. I met with my 11th grade guidance counselor regarding what I was planning as a college major. I mentioned to her that I really liked math and science and I told her that I wanted to be an engineer. She patted me on my knee and said, “Honey, girls aren’t engineers.” I was devastated, and vowed to prove her wrong.

I proceeded to enroll in as many advanced math and science classes as I could in high school, and set my sights on being an engineer. I applied with no assistance from my  and was accepted Early Acceptance to NC State University. As the first to go to college in my family, and having a single mom who raised my sister and myself on her own, I didn’t think about “better” universities (even though I graduated in the top 1% of my high school class). NC State was the best (and really the only notable) public university in NC that offered engineering at the time.

My mom was adamant that I not work during the school year, so I worked every summer while in college. She worked at RJR Nabisco, so I had the good fortune of working there during the summers. Every summer worker had to pay their dues in the tobacco factory during the first summer. There’s nothing like working a second shift from 4 p.m. to midnight and taping two packs of cigarettes together for a “Buy One Get One Free” campaign in an abandoned tobacco warehouse to inspire you to do well in college.

I was fortunate to be awarded a few scholarships, qualified for a Pell Grant, and took out loans for what those didn’t cover. Somehow, despite how grueling the engineering major was, I graduated in four years and got a good job which afforded me the ability to repay my loans. I then worked as an engineer and assembly supervisor for five years. 

I found that I really didn’t love what I was doing. So, I decided that I would go back to school to get my MBA. I used the MBA to make a career pivot to finance and worked for a few years as a financial analyst and then moved onto a consulting role. I greatly enjoyed working in finance and also as a consultant. I got to manage interesting projects that increased efficiency and supported senior management decision-making.

I worked a lot more than 40 hours per week in these roles, which was difficult from a family perspective. I had one child and wanted another.  The hours that I worked were extremely long, and I really didn’t want to have a nanny to raise my children. My husband was focused on establishing his career (he got his MBA and pivoted after I did), which meant I was the one who managed the household. And then there was a random occurrence in my last full-time corporate project management role. The startup that I was working for wasn’t going to survive, and the employees were given 3 months of notice to find a new job.

I took that time to reflect on what I loved about my previous jobs. I liked solving complex problems, but realized that I loved the part of my job where I trained and worked with the employees that were going to use the new tool that I helped develop and implement. I decided to look at teaching and determined that I had enough math credits from my engineering degree to qualify as a high school math teacher. I was hired on an emergency permit to teach math at our local high school.

I spent two years teaching math at this high school. I unfortunately found that I didn’t love the job. I liked teaching math, but struggled with the classroom management part of the job. I decided to try teaching at a different school after my second child was born. Not loving this as well, I applied for two adjunct teaching positions—one at the community college level and one at the 4-year university level. At the college level, I was unable to teach math but qualified to teach business classes with my MBA. 

I found that I loved teaching at the college level. Being an adjunct professor gave me the flexibility to raise my children, as well as do something that I enjoyed. Most students were there because they wanted to learn, and the classroom management issues were not present there. Because of my engineering, finance and consulting backgrounds, I was able to teach many different business classes which made it fun and interesting. I also served for one year as the Interim Associate Dean – Business. This gave me a view into higher education administration.

I moved on from this position into a full-time faculty position for a fully online competency-based education program that focused on providing adult working students the opportunity to get a Bachelors in Business Administration and then later expanded into a Masters program in Leadership. I went back to school one last time to get my PhD in Education – Leadership Studies during this timeframe.

In 2018, my 48-year-old sister passed away unexpectedly. I decided to make my final pivot and focus on helping students as my primary career. I launched my own consulting practice that focuses on student success. Since the timing was great to fully launch my consulting practice during the pandemic, I looked for ways to make a difference in other ways. I contributed my online teaching skills through substitute math teaching as well as writing curriculum and becoming a Master Teacher for a high school entrepreneurship program. 

In the initial stages of my consulting practice, I have been fortunate to work with quite a few private clients and have helped them to change their lives. This ranges from gaining acceptance to graduate professional programs for social work, nursing, business and data science (with notable acceptances to USC and UCLA), as well as providing support for finding internships and entry-level jobs. I have assisted clients with understanding how to pay for their education through scholarships, loans and financial aid. 

While I as one person have made a difference in the student lives I have touched, my goal now is to expand this. Through the launching of this website, I provide free, relevant content as well as affordable packages in addition to my one-on-one assistance to address the Pathways from College to Career.

I think that my journey is a testament to how education can change someone’s life. I learned everything the hard way, and I don’t want others to have to go through what I did. Through good and bad experiences both in colleges and the workforce as well as through research and resilience, I have figured out, not only for myself but for my children, students and clients, how to navigate a less than perfect system that is essential for everyone to become gainfully employed. Regardless of whether you are more suited for a vocational education or one that relies on a college degree, I hope that I can assist you with finding and making your career goal a reality.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

  • A private university education is attainable for EVERYONE. There are free money options for both high achieving as well as lower-income students.

  • There is animosity between Administration and Faculty at ALL levels of education. 

  • Community colleges and universities many times create degrees and certificates to increase their enrollment–NOT to prepare students for future career opportunities.

  • There is NO incentive for colleges and universities to provide adequate advisement support for students. The longer a student is enrolled, the more money they make.

  • College advisors are highly overworked and are focused on advising students in the department they are assigned. Should a student want to change majors or transfer schools, there is little to no advisement available.

  • High school counselors are also highly overworked. In California, there is a ratio of 1 advisor to 450 students. This means that in a high school with enrollment of 900 students, there are 2 advisors. In a high school of 1800 students, there are 4 advisors. 

More About Me

Education

  • PhD in Education – Leadership Studies
    Chapman University

  • Master in Business Administration - Finance
    Pepperdine University

  • Bachelor of Science – Electrical Engineering
    North Carolina State University

  • Clear Single Subject Teaching Credential – Mathematics

WORK EXPERIENCE

  • Founder
    Dr. Tammy Pao & Associates / Best College Connections

  • Chair & Treasurer
    Surfrider Foundation – South Bay Chapter

  • Entrepreneurship Curriculum Specialist/Master Teacher
    Project ECHO

  • Assistant Professor
    Brandman University

  • Interim Associate Dean - Business
    El Camino College

  • Adjunct Professor
    El Camino College, Loyola Marymount University, Santa Monica College

  • Project Manager/Consultant
    Carparts.com, AT&T Broadband, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management, New England Funds

  • Financial Analyst/Decision Support Specialist

    Fidelity Investments, Mattel, Health Ne

  • Manufacturing Engineer/Production Supervisor

    Harmon International, Honeywell, RJR Nabisco

My CV
My Dissertation