Cover girl Soumaly shows exemplary passion for life
By Thanh Pierre Nguyen
Soumaly Khamphahanh is full of surprise. Despite her sultry beauty, her sense of fashion and her glamorous looks, she remains a very practical, serious and down-to-Earth person with strong work ethics and an exemplary sense of personal responsibility.
Perhaps the first surprise when meeting Soumaly is to learn that she works in accounting. In the history of the profession, Soumaly stands out as one of the most attractive, extroverted and fashionable accountants. Currently employed at Techno P.O.S., she's also very good and meticulous at her job.
She joined the company three years ago, shortly after graduating from Maisonneuve College with a degree in administration (specializing in finance).
Techno P.O.S. (www.technopos.com) was launched by a team of dynamic entrepreneurs driven to push the limits of innovation in point-of-sale displays. Today, 20 years later, the company is an industry leader offering a fully integrated service from design through printing, manufacturing, co-packing, logistics and delivery to retailers.
Soumaly talks about her job with natural enthusiasm and obvious passion for it, especially the problem-solving aspect.
The challenge, according to her, is to find the inconsistencies in the data and to make sure everything adds up so that the reports are accurate.
"One plus one equals two, but you have to make sure that one is really one," says the 24-year-old cover girl, referring to the need for precise record-keeping.
"Every morning it's a thrill for me to go to work because I know that there's always a new problem I've got to analyze."
But beyond her knack for precision with numbers, she's also a natural with people.
This is not surprising: Soumaly has a great attitude about life, about people and about everything she does. Although her beauty is striking, she remains friendly, accessible and people-oriented.
In fact, at the office she is known by the affectionate nickname "Party Girl", because she is fun to work with and is able to boost morale as needed.
"My co-workers are exceptional, I feel right at home!" she says.
That's the thing about the Laotian cover girl: It may be difficult for some people to pronounce her family name, but it is extremely easy for everybody to get along with Soumaly -- she's friendly, warm and seems to have a contagious passion for life.
She's also passionate about meeting new people and learning from all cultures. Growing up in St Henri in Montreal, she was exposed to various cultures. At school, she was able to blend in naturally with various ethnic groups, socially navigating effortlessly from one group to another.
"I was able to talk to anybody. I never had any racially related problem. I love talking to people. I love to learn!" says a radiant Soumaly, who can speak French, English and Laotian.
On the issue of racism, Soumaly believes that there's no need to waste energy on that kind of negative behavior.
"Some say that people can't change, but I believe the contrary. Their personality will never change, but the way they think can and when it does, the way they act obviously changes also. The key to all relationships, whether it's social or professional, is communication," she says.
Today, she hangs around with a culturally diverse group of friends: Chinese, Spanish, Laotian, Vietnamese, Quebecer, etc.
"Everybody has something to bring and to contribute. Why waste such opportunities to better yourself by learning and getting as much knowledge as you can about different cultures," she says.
Mature, responsible and people-loving, Soumaly seems poised to transfer all her best qualities to her daugher Jasmine who's only 18 months old.
Since the birth of her daugher, she admits her outlook on life has changed. She has begun to understand the meaning of responsibility at a deeper level.
"Your life changes radically for the better and it's a whole different lifestyle," she says.
"Before, I was working for a paycheck. Now that I have a child, I've more responsibilities. I work for my daughter. I also understand my mother more and why she raised me the way she did," she says.
"We all whined as kids when our mother said this or that, but when you become a mother yourself, you realize how much all the things she said, well, she was right!" admits Soumaly.
Her mother has inculcated in her the Buddhist values of simplicity, tolerance and compassion.
"Family, helping one another, never judging other people, those were values my mother taught me," says the grateful young Mom, who has an older 27-year-old sister, a 30-year-old brother and another older brother living in Laos, whom she has not yet met.
Soumaly plans to visit for the first time her home country in the future.
With a population of over six million people, Laos remains one of the few remaining official Communist states, although it began decentralizing control and encouraging private enterprise in 1986.
When asked about what advice she would give to young girls, she humbly offered the following: "School is important. Put all the efforts you can into your studies, because that is what will make you go farthest in life. It's the foundation in life. Everything else that is good will come naturally after."
"School gives you all the tools you need to become successful, the only thing you have to do is make a decision about wanting it or not."
Clearly a role model, Soumaly will no doubt continue to impact positively many lives around her, given her contagious enthusiasm for life, her embrace of different cultures and her exemplary sense of responsibility.
Soumaly Khamphahanh is full of surprise. Despite her sultry beauty, her sense of fashion and her glamorous looks, she remains a very practical, serious and down-to-Earth person with strong work ethics and an exemplary sense of personal responsibility.
Perhaps the first surprise when meeting Soumaly is to learn that she works in accounting. In the history of the profession, Soumaly stands out as one of the most attractive, extroverted and fashionable accountants. Currently employed at Techno P.O.S., she's also very good and meticulous at her job.
She joined the company three years ago, shortly after graduating from Maisonneuve College with a degree in administration (specializing in finance).
Techno P.O.S. (www.technopos.com) was launched by a team of dynamic entrepreneurs driven to push the limits of innovation in point-of-sale displays. Today, 20 years later, the company is an industry leader offering a fully integrated service from design through printing, manufacturing, co-packing, logistics and delivery to retailers.
Soumaly talks about her job with natural enthusiasm and obvious passion for it, especially the problem-solving aspect.
The challenge, according to her, is to find the inconsistencies in the data and to make sure everything adds up so that the reports are accurate.
"One plus one equals two, but you have to make sure that one is really one," says the 24-year-old cover girl, referring to the need for precise record-keeping.
"Every morning it's a thrill for me to go to work because I know that there's always a new problem I've got to analyze."
But beyond her knack for precision with numbers, she's also a natural with people.
This is not surprising: Soumaly has a great attitude about life, about people and about everything she does. Although her beauty is striking, she remains friendly, accessible and people-oriented.
In fact, at the office she is known by the affectionate nickname "Party Girl", because she is fun to work with and is able to boost morale as needed.
"My co-workers are exceptional, I feel right at home!" she says.
That's the thing about the Laotian cover girl: It may be difficult for some people to pronounce her family name, but it is extremely easy for everybody to get along with Soumaly -- she's friendly, warm and seems to have a contagious passion for life.
She's also passionate about meeting new people and learning from all cultures. Growing up in St Henri in Montreal, she was exposed to various cultures. At school, she was able to blend in naturally with various ethnic groups, socially navigating effortlessly from one group to another.
"I was able to talk to anybody. I never had any racially related problem. I love talking to people. I love to learn!" says a radiant Soumaly, who can speak French, English and Laotian.
On the issue of racism, Soumaly believes that there's no need to waste energy on that kind of negative behavior.
"Some say that people can't change, but I believe the contrary. Their personality will never change, but the way they think can and when it does, the way they act obviously changes also. The key to all relationships, whether it's social or professional, is communication," she says.
Today, she hangs around with a culturally diverse group of friends: Chinese, Spanish, Laotian, Vietnamese, Quebecer, etc.
"Everybody has something to bring and to contribute. Why waste such opportunities to better yourself by learning and getting as much knowledge as you can about different cultures," she says.
Mature, responsible and people-loving, Soumaly seems poised to transfer all her best qualities to her daugher Jasmine who's only 18 months old.
Since the birth of her daugher, she admits her outlook on life has changed. She has begun to understand the meaning of responsibility at a deeper level.
"Your life changes radically for the better and it's a whole different lifestyle," she says.
"Before, I was working for a paycheck. Now that I have a child, I've more responsibilities. I work for my daughter. I also understand my mother more and why she raised me the way she did," she says.
"We all whined as kids when our mother said this or that, but when you become a mother yourself, you realize how much all the things she said, well, she was right!" admits Soumaly.
Her mother has inculcated in her the Buddhist values of simplicity, tolerance and compassion.
"Family, helping one another, never judging other people, those were values my mother taught me," says the grateful young Mom, who has an older 27-year-old sister, a 30-year-old brother and another older brother living in Laos, whom she has not yet met.
Soumaly plans to visit for the first time her home country in the future.
With a population of over six million people, Laos remains one of the few remaining official Communist states, although it began decentralizing control and encouraging private enterprise in 1986.
When asked about what advice she would give to young girls, she humbly offered the following: "School is important. Put all the efforts you can into your studies, because that is what will make you go farthest in life. It's the foundation in life. Everything else that is good will come naturally after."
"School gives you all the tools you need to become successful, the only thing you have to do is make a decision about wanting it or not."
Clearly a role model, Soumaly will no doubt continue to impact positively many lives around her, given her contagious enthusiasm for life, her embrace of different cultures and her exemplary sense of responsibility.
posted by Super Peter at 8:04 AM
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