Suzi Xayavong is a second-year student in NSU’s Master of Business Administration in process improvement program, part of the H. Wayne Huizenga School of Business and Entrepreneurship. When she is not busy with school work, she loves to dance. She hopes students who read her story realize that life presents lessons and challenges from which to learn.
At a young age, I had this urge deep in my soul but I did not understand what this feeling was. I did not know how to decipher this code my brain was trying to communicate to the rest of my body. Little did I know, starting graduate school at NSU was going to wake up the beast I call my addiction.
I was born to Laotian immigrants who escaped from a communist Laos in the 1980s. My parents came to America not understanding a single English word. They had dreams that they would be able to give their growing family a better future. My parents worked multiple jobs to help pay the bills and raise their five children. Since we grew up poor, we did not know that this world had more to offer until we got older and our needs turned to wants. We soon learned that we could not afford our wants and we learned to live without many things. Little did my parents know that poverty fueled my addiction.
I grew up with four brothers who felt that I was not deserving of my last name. My brothers felt that someone who was strong, confident, competitive and fearless should have represented the Xayavong name. Since I was the only girl in the family, they challenged me and made me prove everyday that I was worthy of my last name. Little did my brothers know, their treatment toward me growing up fueled my addiction.
When I entered my twenties, I fell in love. I fell in love with the wrong guy. He lifted me up. He lifted me up enough to knock me down. He tore me down to my core. After seven years of this abuse, he left me confused, brokenhearted and depressed. Little did he know, he helped fuel my addiction.
I was entering my seventh year working with American Express in North Carolina, when the company announced that they were closing the office. I was given several options. I had a choice to work at home, move to Florida, Utah or Arizona, or accept a severance package. After a week-long trip to South Florida, I decided to move to Florida. I signed a contract to stay in Florida for at least a year, with a choice of moving back home.
Leaving my family and friends left me even more depressed. After six months in Florida, I started to feel this urge in my soul. I was reintroduced to this feeling I’d felt as a kid. I felt it was time to find someone whom I lost touch with: myself. I sought a high that my body was aching for. I went to parties, hung out with new friends, went on mini adventures all over South Florida and enrolled in graduate school at NSU. Little did I know I would soon find my high while at NSU.
In my second term here, I decided to get involved in school and network with fellow graduate students. An opportunity opened up for me to become a student ambassador for the Graduate Business Student Association.
As a student ambassador, I was the voice of the students. I couldn’t help but notice that several students expressed their concerns about finding employment after graduate school. The GBSA decided to host a series of Empowerment Events. These Empowerment Events are a way for company representatives to come on campus and talk about their company. I saw an opportunity to bring someone from American Express on campus to discuss opportunities within our company.
I wanted to bring at least one leader from American Express to an Empowerment Event. I reached out to several leaders and human resource employees only to be turned down. I decided to email the regional vice president with my idea. Her calendar was booked for the next six months, so she directed me to the director of human resources. I pitched the idea and he thought it was a great. He spoke at the Empowerment Event and brought 10 leaders from the Global Credit Administration from American Express and their regional vice president.
Shortly after this event, I received an invitation to join the Strategic Forum Student Group (SFSG). This was my second high, since the opportunities for their members are more prestigious than those given to me through the GBSA. SFSG members have the privilege of attending a monthly board meeting held by the Strategic Forum South Florida Chapter, a group of 32 CEOs, entrepreneurs and business leaders from across South Florida.
Once I was accepted as a Member in Progress (MIP) in the SFSG, I became very active. I made sure to attend all the student events and offered my assistance in anything to help the board members.
Shortly after completing my time as an MIP, I became the communications and events chairwoman for the SFSG. This opened other doors for me. Through SFSG, I was selected as the intern for the Council of Economic Advisors. As an intern, I sit in on a quarterly board meeting with 25 business leaders partnered with the Fort Lauderdale Chamber of Commerce. I compile a report that is sent directly to the Federal Reserve Board to represent South Florida’s economic status and future projections. I was also one of four students selected to speak at the Young President’s Organization/World Presidents’ Organization Economic Summit attended by the CEOs, chairs, owners or presidents of various businesses worldwide.
One of the privileges of being an SFSG member is that we select a mentor within the Strategic Forum members. Phil Bakes, president of Snapper Creek Equity and co-founder of the South Florida Chapter of the Strategic Forum, hosted the past five Economic Summits in the Conrad Hotel in Miami. Bakes agreed to mentor me while I was a member of the SFSG. This involves meeting with him once a month following the monthly Strategic Forum meeting. He helps prepare me for what I’ll need outside the classroom. With his support, I’ve been able to connect with the necessary people to get me closer to my dream profession after graduate school: a consultant helping businesses implement improvement processes into their organization through Six Sigma, a quality control system created by Motorola in the 1980s.
The following semester, I accepted the role as president and chairwoman of the SFSG. In addition to my own agenda, I’ve been able to create opportunities for some of the SFSG members as well. My addiction does not stop at doing things for myself or my organization. I’ve volunteered for organizations like a Prom to Remember, an organization that organizes a prom once a year for kids with cancer, and Tomorrow’s Rainbow, which helps kids cope with the loss of a loved one through the aid of miniature horses.
I continue to fill my calendar with philanthropic activities or activities that will build my members or me. I continue to do so, simply because I am able.
I’m addicted to being empowered.
