Transforming Tragedy Into Something Remarkable feat. Jackie Pham ‘21

It was Jackie’s kids who finally got her to pursue her MBA. She realized she was at a loss for how to explain what she did for a living to her kids, when their friends could easily describe how their parents were teachers, or worked at Target. It was time for her to pursue something different in her career.

Jackie earned her MBA from Rice Business, graduating in 2021. But tragically, during her time in the program, she lost her three children and mother in a house fire during the Houston freeze in February of 2021.

But resilience is deep in Jackie’s bones, having been raised by Vietnamese immigrants who fled Vietnam in 1979. Jackie was born in a refugee camp in Malaysia, where her parents were rescued after being found adrift in the South China Sea. 

In this episode, Jackie dives deep with host Maya Pomroy (‘21) talking about her career path, carrying on the memory of her 3 children Colette, Edison and Olivia, and transforming the lowest points of her story into hope and action through the CEO Foundation, which supports initiatives that closely align with her core values of education, arts, health, wellness, and environmental and social impact for the children of Sugar Land, TX and beyond.

Episode Quotes:

Promoting positive environmental & social impact through the CEO Foundation

20:41: I came to the realization that why not continue to double down on things like education, right? And why not promote positive environmental and social impacts, especially among kids? Certainly, in my upbringing, I didn't learn enough about that kind of stuff. And so, I think the more we're able to expose kids to some of these things at a younger age, it'll help shape them as tomorrow's leaders, innovators, and change-makers.

The MBA program as a shared experience

25:53 - The MBA experience was as much mine as it was my kids because I needed them to be flexible about certain things. When it came to every other weekend when I had to be in class, they were genuinely excited for me. And that fueled me as well.

Inspiration for pursuing MBA

07:48 - At one point I realized, I was kind of at a loss for words when it came to telling my kids what I did for a living. The concept of payments and financial services is just way too abstract and really lame to kids. And I envied, honestly, the parents who could easily convey the value of their contribution as like police officers or teachers, or even like, so-and-so's mom, who's a director at Target. 

Why she started the CEO Foundation

22:57 - Is it really, am I really being responsible with those funds? And, I kind of just wanted to do right by everyone's kindness. But eventually I think I realized, I came to the realization that, why not continue to double down on things like education.

Show Links:

Episode Transcript

Guest Profile:

Jackie Pham on LinkedInCEO Foundation WebsiteCEO Foundation on InstagramCEO Foundation on FacebookCEO Foundation on LinkedIn