More About Me
My Journey | Education & Work Experience
My Journey
I would like to begin by saying that I have used education to move forward in life.
I would like to share My Journey with you.
Beginning of College Journey
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 I vowed to prove her wrong.
Despite my guidance counselor’s discouragement, I set my sights on being an engineer. I was accepted Early Acceptance to NC State University in Electrical Engineering. As the first to go to college in my family, and having a single mom who raised my sister and myself on her own, this was considered a very big accomplishment in my family.
Pursuit of Undergraduate Degree
I had a very small college fund that consisted of birthday and Christmas money, and my mom wasn’t in the position to help me financially for college. And she was adamant that I didn’t work during the school year, so I worked every summer while in college. My mom worked at RJR Nabisco that had a large college student program for it’s employees, and I had the good fortune of working there during the summers. In addition to the money I made there, I was fortunate to be awarded a few scholarships, qualified for a Pell Grant, and took out loans for what those didn’t cover.
The selection process for these jobs was very competitive, and I was very excited about getting a summer job at RJR Nabisco. However, every summer worker had to pay their dues in the tobacco factory during the first summer even though there were some office opportunities available for later summers (which thankfully I was selected for the following summers). Even though the experience in the tobacco factory was not the best, it did pay much better than most summer jobs in our area. And as I reflect, there’s nothing like working a second shift from 4 pm to midnight in a tobacco factory to motivate you to do well in college.
Despite how grueling the Electrical Engineering major was, I graduated in four years and got a well paying engineering job upon graduation. This afforded me the ability to repay my loans over the next few years, which I now know is not the norm.
Corporate Career
I worked as a manufacturing engineer and assembly supervisor for the first five years of my career. 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, and I used the MBA to make a career pivot to finance. I 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.
At this point, 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.
Career Pivot to Academia
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 increasing efficiency and 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 various new tools that I helped develop and implement. I decided to look at teaching and determined that I had enough Math subject credits from my engineering degree to qualify as a High School Math Teacher. I was hired on an emergency permit to teach Math at Mira Costa High School.
High School Teacher to College Professor To Administator
I spent two years teaching Math at Mira Costa. I unfortunately found that I didn’t love the job. I loved teaching Math, but I found the classroom management part of the job exhausting. After my second child was born, I decided to try teaching at a different school. I was fortunate to get a job at El Segundo High School. Not loving this as well, I applied for and was hired for two Adjunct Professor positions—one at the community college level (El Camino College) and one at the 4-year university level (Loyola Marymount University). At the college level, I was unable to teach Math but was qualified to teach Business classes with my MBA.
I found that I loved teaching at the college level. I enjoyed teaching both at community college and university levels as it gave me first-hand perspectives on how the two levels differ and also how they fit together. Being an Adjunct Professor gave me the flexibility to raise my children, as well as do something that I enjoyed. Most students attended college 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 at El Camino College. This gave me a view into higher education administration, which was eye-opening.
I moved on from the Associate Dean position into a full-time Professor position for a fully online competency-based education program at Brandman University. This program focused on providing adult working students the opportunity to get a Bachelors Degree in Business Administration. After this program was fully launched, I had the opportunity to write curriculum for a Masters Degree in Leadership program. During this timeframe, I went back to school one last time to get my PhD in Education – Leadership Studies.
One FINal PivoT (That Was A Bit Sidelined)
In 2018, my younger sister, who was only 48 years old, passed away unexpectedly. I did A LOT of reflection after this happened.
Later that year, I quit my full-time Professor position. I began the development of a consulting practice that helps students navigate college and careers as its primary focus. I felt and still feel that one of the major shortcomings of academia is the lack of advisement. I had given a lot of advice in my tenure in academia on these topics, but I wanted to make a greater impact.
However, just as I was gaining momentum, the pandemic happened. Since the timing wasn’t great to fully launch my consulting practice during this timeframe, I looked for other ways to make a difference. I contributed my online teaching skills through substitute Math teaching. I also wrote curriculum, developed programs and became a Master Teacher for a high school entrepreneurship program.
Another consequence of the pandemic was that my younger son very affected by it. He spent the latter part of his junior year and all of his senior year of high school online. He as well as many other students needed, and in my opinion still need, additional assistance to overcome the setbacks from this unprecedented event. His well-being became a focus for me. I was able to work with a few private clients while supporting my son, but this was not my entire vision for my consulting practice. I am so very grateful that my son is now at USC in the MS in Applied Data Science program, which affords me the opportunity to focus on taking my consulting practice to the next level.
Final Thoughts
I have been so very fortunate to have the opportunity to help teenagers and young adults change their lives. This has ranged from assisting with choices of majors, coursework and planning schedules to the steps in transferring from community college to a 4-year university. Additionally I have helped clients with gaining acceptance to graduate professional programs for Social Work, Nursing, Business, Economics and Data Science (with notable acceptances to USC, UCLA and various Cal States), as well as providing support for finding internships and entry-level jobs. I have also assisted clients with guidance on how to pay for their education through scholarships, financial aid, and loans.
While I have made a difference in the lives of a few students, my goal now is to expand this. Through the launching of this website, I will provide free, relevant content as well as affordable packages in addition to my 1-On-1 assistance to address the Pathways from College Matriculation to Career.
I think that My Journey is a testament to how education was the key to changing my life. I had to learn everything the hard way, and I have offered support and guidance whenever possible because I don’t want others to have to go through what I did. I have learned through good and bad experiences both in various college programs and in the workforce, as well as through a lot of research and resilience. I am proud to say that I have figured out, not only for myself but also for my children, students and clients, how to navigate a less than perfect system that is essential for everyone to master to become gainfully employed.
Regardless of whether you are more suited for a vocational education or one that relies on a college degree, my goal is to help as many clients as possible to navigate academia in order to become happily and gainfully employed.
Education & Work Experience
Education
PhD in Education – Leadership Studies
Chapman UniversityMaster in Business Administration - Finance
Pepperdine UniversityBachelor of Science – Electrical Engineering
North Carolina State UniversityClear Single Subject Teaching Credential – Mathematics
WORK EXPERIENCE
Founder
Dr. Tammy Pao & Associates / Best College ConnectionsChair & Treasurer
Surfrider Foundation – South Bay ChapterEntrepreneurship Curriculum Specialist/Master Teacher
Project ECHOAssistant Professor
Brandman UniversityInterim Associate Dean - Business
El Camino CollegeAdjunct Professor
El Camino College, Loyola Marymount University, Santa Monica CollegeProject Manager/Consultant
Carparts.com, AT&T Broadband, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management, New England FundsFinancial Analyst/Decision Support Specialist
Fidelity Investments, Mattel, Health Ne
Manufacturing Engineer/Production Supervisor
Harmon International, Honeywell, RJR Nabisco