“I have three words: be resilient, be patient, and reach out to Upwardly Global.”
Hai Au (Ashley) grew up in a small town in Vietnam, the daughter of a small businessperson and a teacher. Fiercely independent, at the age of 18 she moved from her small town to Ho Chi Minh City for college where she obtained a Bachelor’s Degree in Public Administration from the National Academy of Public Administration, and later began her career in consumer research at Unilever. In 2016, she immigrated from Vietnam to the United States in search of growth and opportunity. She knew only one person when she arrived in Northern California, but quickly began building a new life for herself.
With the help of Upwardly Global, she obtained her first job in the U.S., developed her English language proficiency, and nurtured a rich network of other immigrants seeking to build new lives here. Upwardly Global provided her with invaluable job training skills – from reviewing her resume to teaching her the nuances of interviews. She now works at the exciting and fast-growing startup Weee! as a business strategy manager, where she is able to bring together two of her deep loves: food and the immigrant experience.
Looking back, Au knows that a large reason why she is an immigrant success story is because of the compassionate and welcoming assistance offered by Upwardly Global. She is excited to continue contributing to the Upwardly Global mission, extending a helping hand to current and future generations of immigrants.