So I guess my principal weakness when working with people is I tend to be a very open and confrontational working style. And I mean, everyone thinks that they have a working style that best fits like certain. And it’s worked for me in the past, but it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the best working style. And I know that like, especially working with these kinds of organizations like being open and honest and upfront is encouraged. But sometimes it’s…you can be open and upfront without necessarily being blunt. And I think that is something that I’ve been working on lately. So I will tell someone like how it is, I will be straight up and honest with someone if I see an issue and how I think things can be done better. But I think that I need to realize not everybody has that kind of communication style. And it’s not like I get aggressive or anything like that. But I think that people are at different levels of leadership and working styles and their life and if you’re, say, talking to a brand new committee member or freshmen in VSA, it’s a lot different than if you’re talking to someone who’s well experienced in VSA. And who’s had a lot of experience with leadership in general like that. So in the past, I’ve had I think, two issues in my recent stunt as executive director of NIS, where I really learned from that, especially because like I said, people are at different stages of their life, especially in college, and you really need to gear towards that for people. I think. I grew up thinking that being straightforward and bold was the best way to go about things and sometimes it is, but I also have to take into account that other people have different styles. And so that’s mostly been what I’ve been focused on working with lately. 

As pertaining to the Southeast position, I think this actually might be beneficial. Especially because I’m so much higher up now. And now I am not just a new Southeast member. I’m not just a new committee member, I’m someone who’s had a decent amount of experience with se and I understand that there’s different levels to things. And if I’m doing part of like this exact board, I can’t just talk to people like they’re my friends, like they know exactly what they’re doing like they’ve had exactly this many years and VSA experience and things like that. And so I think that’s going to be a challenge for me, but in a good way for sure to learn how to talk to people who are at different phases of their life to have different styles and things like that. But yes, also though, I think there’s been some issues in SE sometimes some people are a little bit behind the curtain about certain issues or I know people in VSA love to gossip in general, which is fine and it’s normal, but I do think that my straightforwardness and my honesty will come in and very well into this. so

So I guess I’m referring mostly through this interview to my job as Executive Director of NIS, because it pertains so much I think to what this new VP of Programs role will be. So that’s what mostly what I’m referring to. And I touched on this, but when I was executive director of NIS, I was working with people with very different communication styles and also different experience levels. I think sometimes I took a hands off approach to people that I knew very well and that I was comfortable with their work. And I think that’s a problem when you get too comfortable just because someone’s your friend or someone, you know well from experience, like, I think people always need oversight and advice. And I think I left a few people behind sometimes, because I trusted that they would do their job, which is great, but at the same time, I wasn’t necessarily there for them, and they didn’t feel like they could, like always come to me with issues because I never asked them what their issues were because I always assumed that they were handling it very well, which is a balance, I think. And so I realized that while working with people, you really do have to adapt to their communication styles and working styles and so I had to kind of step out of the box for what was comfortable for me and that I had to start kind of paying a little bit more attention to people who I thought were doing a decent job. I want to check in more. I push myself to check in on them more even like pushing past the feeling that I had, they were doing okay. I had to kind of be fair and like check on everybody the same amount. Then for people that I was really like, honed in on checking in with every single minute, every single decision, I also had to realize that I had to let their kind of talent shine and like let their strengths show for themselves. And kind of just figure out the sweet spot of basically trusting someone to do their job but also managing them and making sure everything goes planned. And so I think that was what tested me most in the past year. Then as far as feedback and criticism, I’ve been like a really fan of a face to face discussion which I know sounds like standard and you’re supposed to have you’re supposed to talk to people one on one but I think that often doesn’t happen, especially with like technology and since se is so technologically advanced, we often just send like a quick like, “Hey, just checking in” message, which is great, but I actually have come to really value like one-on-ones. I think people don’t really open up about their problems or about the issues they’re struggling with until you have to ask them face to face otherwise they just feel kind of like they don’t they don’t want to ask anything. They don’t want to bother you about anything. And so that’s something that I have used to kind of give feedback and criticism…everyone hated me for this but like I really encouraged like in person meetings when I was like a director of NIS and I try my best to meet with like various directors like individually even if it was just 15 minutes like during a class break. Something like that. It’s really important for me to check in personally with people so that’s the way that I kind of listen to people and then also give feedback. I just have an honest discussion with like, what I’m happy with and what I’m not happy with.

So I’ll start off with the weakest pillar to me. I’m maybe a little unorthodox, but I think the weakest pillar is actually culture. I think sometimes when we’re involved in Vietnamese student associations, organizations, we actually take culture for granted because we assume that we all have a general sense of like this overarching idea of culture which is like to most people: food, language, customs, things like that. But I think something that could be done better and SE is kind of an elaboration on what culture is. It’s not just the traditional wear that we wear at Galas. It’s not just the food that’s being served. I think more and more as I get older, I’m realizing that culture is a mindset, if anything, a set of values. And I think we forget that sometimes. And we kind of just throw in the culture. We assumed culture with all the stuff that people already know about Vietnamese culture, but we’re not really having discussions about, at least in my opinion, about kind of deeper issues that also have just as much relevance to Vietnamese culture as traditional wear, food, and things like that. Another way that I think that culture is the weakest is that as we are primarily a Vietnamese organization, I think we forget that the point is to spread awareness. So it is great for people to come into the VSA and to not know so much about Vietnamese culture. So if there are different ethnicities or anything like that, I think we do a good job of spreading that within the organization. But I would really like to see some change spreading it outside of the organization, especially for an umbrella organization and, and all these smaller VSAs & school VSAs already have their own culture events and collaborations to help spread awareness and educate people about the culture of like Vietnamese people in general. But I’d like to see some more initiative from SE on that end, just because I think we assume that all the schools will take care of it with their various events. And I think we can do a better job of stepping that up and kind of widening the net for the community that we’re a part of.

And then for the strongest pillar, I think it’s definitely unity. I have no doubt about it. There’s just something about VSAs and conferences and events that always shock me every single time, no matter how many I go to, how willing people are to meet new friends, break down barriers. The bond that people make lasts forever. And it’s so enjoyable to see when people reunite at events and things like that. And I would never say that we like you to hold back on unity, and that we shouldn’t put in any work because it takes care of itself because people are naturally social. It’s not how it is. But at the same time, people who are involved in VSA and spreading the news culture and all that are generally very strong in that and what connects us. So I guess in a way, the weakest culture or the weakest pillar is kind of what makes our strongest pillar, that core connection we have with the interest in Vietnamese culture, and stuff like that. So yeah, I would say that’s definitely our strongest pillar.

So I think with everything, all the craziness that’s going on right now, technology is our crutch in good ways and in bad ways. I think it can be used in good ways, especially to keep engagement, although not as we prefer in person like face to face connections and things like that. But I think Southeast has a really good job of engaging people, in recent years has done a really good job of engaging people in, whether it be initiatives or just casual events online, like whether it’s bonding through certain stuff that’s going on or like plugging something in the group me there’s always a sense of connection. But I think that because of the situation in the world right now, it really needs to be stepped up in ways that engage people…It doesn’t necessarily have to be one big event online. As a lot of people are resorting to, although that’s obviously something that can be done, I think what I’m thinking is more of an increase in engagement and finding out what people are actually interested in. So especially for technology, I think it helps when you have people who have the same interests as you, have similar needs and wants. And I think that SE could do a good job of fostering that while we can’t have in-person events. So I know in Southeast at least off the top of my head there’s a discord for like gamers, like there’s that friend group. And although that’s a very social and casual thing, I do think it’s interesting that that’s what brings all those people together. It’s like it’s one group, right? And so if we were to facilitate sort of like these, these like groups, these these hubs, I think that would help increase engagement and like connections between people. While we can’t be face to face, so sort of the way that you know how the Facebook ads online are like promoting Facebook and its usage of groups through like very niche groups provided on Facebook, sort of like that. So providing a space for people to connect over similar things, I think is really a good way to keep people within SE without having the opportunity to be face to face. And then also people are just more likely to participate in things when they’re interested in them. So not only that, but I think we should cater specifically to what people are interested in. I think a lot of times we think, “Oh, this will be fun this game night, online or this discord group chat,” and we just assume that people will join but we don’t actually know if people are interested in it. And we don’t actually have a like a central focus to these things. And it would be really helpful if we did so. If we found out that like more and more young Vietnamese people are sustainability and the earth. Like we could have workshops or even just casual discussions about that online and and if people and if we ask people, that’s what they wanted, they’d be very engaged and they would talk to other people about that and connect through there. So I think that’s the best option, given the circumstances is just kind of finding ways to group people together.

Okay, so I’m going to start this question off by saying, I personally believe that the biggest key to accountability engagement is a personal connection. Sometimes you can’t have that. But for the most part, if someone feels personally connected and obligated towards someone, towards a chore. an activity, an organization, then they will most likely be passionate about their job and be willing to pull out all the stops needed to get whatever is done. And so I think, in my experience, the best way to make sure someone is doing their job is to personally check in and really understand what’s going on in their life and really understand where their mindsets at. Too often, it’s just like, here’s your job, do it, or you’re not doing your job. But I think there’s a lot more personal stake in it too. Sometimes people just aren’t feeling it. Sometimes there’s personal reasons that are holding people back from doing their job properly. So I’m a big fan of, I guess, personal connection and interaction to ensure accountability, whether it be a director or an Eboard member. 

Specifically for a director, I think in the past, there has been sometimes a lack of oversight. We let people and this is a mistake I’ve made in the past that I like and elaborate on my weakness. We let people just take care of their job. We let them do whatever they need to do and we run all the big decisions by them, but we don’t actually see how they’re doing and how they’re interacting with our committee. And I think it’s important that we know what’s going on between the director and their committee to understand why the director isn’t fulfilling their job. And too often, it only comes to us when the director suddenly is not doing their job, and we have to hear about it through the committee members. So I think a top down kind of flow would help ensure the directors doing their job. But then, like I said, I think at its core for me, it’s just personally engaging someone sitting them down, saying, “Hey, is there anything I can help with? Like, what is it in your life that’s holding you back? Is it emotional? Is that mental? Is it personal,” all these things I think could really help kind of find the root of the problem and then fix the problem as needed…For an Eboard member. I think it’s a unique relationship because you are the heads and there’s no there’s not really a lot of fallback which actually drives people to a lot of pressure and honestly makes this scenario way more common than usual. But like I said, personal engagement. You don’t have to love everybody you work with. But I do think that a sense of personal attachment & pride can really do a long way for any Eboard member, and also just constantly reminding of why they’re on Eboard in the first place. Sometimes if you’re at the head of something, you get lost and all the managerial decisions and you forget the actual people, I guess, the actual ongoings. And so if an Eboard member is lacking luster there, then you really have to bring them down back to where they started, remind them why they’re doing this. And kind of kind of try to reignite the passion from there I guess,

Besides my whole spiel about engagement and personal interaction, sometimes it’s just really difficult in a team when two people don’t get along. This is I think, where my style of open communication comes into play the most. Oftentimes, these two people are more likely than not, letting their frustration seep off into other places where the other person can’t see them or understand them or the rest of the Eboard can’t understand it. And it often ends up being a lot of pent up frustration and anger. So I think that sometimes in order to hash it out, I think you really just need to get these two people together and really grill them, like as to why they’re feeling the way they are. As to like every single thought that’s running through their head should be said out loud, honestly, in a situation like this. And yes, feelings will inevitably get hurt, but it’s important to understand the full grasp of the situation. And people can’t really move past things until they get things off their chest. So in a controlled environment, of course, I think it’s best that they kind of just hash everything out every single issue they have with each other. And then with the other Exec board members present, just kind of facilitate a conversation about why this is occurring. And then additionally, it’s easier said than done. But if that doesn’t work, and if all personal ties are severed, what I found, through my previous experience is complete oversight by everybody else. So in order to not let these things happen, in order to hold these two people more accountable, since they clearly can’t do the job themselves or hold themselves accountable, it’s definitely important to run everything out, run every single decision pass every single board member because I think that after a certain point, they can’t be trusted to do their work within just them for whatever personal reasons. And so it’s to the benefit of everybody to kind of increase the oversight. Not only will Eboard members know what’s going on, those two will also kind of be a little more hesitant to act the way they’ve been acting towards each other when everybody’s watching.

Nowadays, this topic has become political even though it shouldn’t, in my opinion, but I think the problem with a lot of these situations is a lot of doubt is placed amongst usually the victims. And whether people know it or not, sometimes a shred of doubt can cause a situation like that to completely fall. And I think it’s always better to err on the side of caution. So if someone were to approach me about sexual harassment in SE, I would immediately begin to make amends by first dealing with a situation directly at hand confronting the accused offender, and kind of just getting a bearing like, “Look, I’m not really sure. Like what can be done about this, an accusation has been made. And at this point, we need to focus more on the victim at hand and how we can help de-escalate that side of the situation.” So I think my approach would be instinctually to take care of the victim, to get them into a safe place as possible to completely be there for them. If they needed anything, and just be someone for them to talk every single detail about, I think it’s important in these situations that both sides gets to be as detailed as possible in their feelings and anything harboring resentment or hidden, super dangerous not only for them, but you know, for the organization in general. And so definitely erring on the side of caution, immediately reprimanding the offender. And later, possibly talks about the other side, but for the most part, if someone’s accusing someone of something, they are often the person who needs the most attention. So I would definitely fall into that first. And then I’m not sure if VSA does this. It’s incredibly unorthodox. But we do trials in some other organization involved in And that can be really stressful given the person depending on the person, but it can also be very liberating. So I think it would depend on the victim, if they want to bring this up as a learning point as an awareness issue or just kind of move on with the right amount of support needed, but I’m a fan of kind of getting everything in the open if the victim is willing, in order to kind of teach a lesson to show that we care and to also get anything out of the way that might just be false or inaccurate.