Hi! I’m a first-generation (Mexican-Vietnamese) college graduate who consults in financial literacy, career preparation, and academia. I had little to no knowledge of how to be financially independent and navigate my career options after high school and college, but through the right mentoring, tutoring, and opportunities, I graduated in four years on multiple scholarships from a top-rated university. After four years of tutoring for wealthy clients and working in financial policy, I founded Dao Academic Consulting to help QTBIPOC students and professionals prepare for academic, career, and financial success. 

In the first two years of high school, I didn’t realize I should be joining clubs, seeking leadership roles, taking advanced classes, or polishing my college resume. I spent those years as a teen runaway and at-risk youth, balancing multiple jobs, homes, and the criminal justice system with my family in between classes. During my junior year, I received intense mentoring and tutoring that influenced my desire to go to college. I was selected for an internship at a Fortune 500 company in my senior year, where I was surrounded (for the first time) by white-collar professionals with college degrees. I desperately wanted that type of financial stability, career, and independence for myself.

I felt sick when I got my long-awaited college acceptance letter and the estimated cost of tuition and living was $80k for four years. My family and I couldn’t afford that. With the help of encouraging teachers and mentors, I strategically applied to local need-based and merit-based scholarships. I graduated from my Title I high school as a registered homeless student with 10 different scholarships, which covered full tuition and cost of living at the University of Texas at Austin.

In college, I struggled to adapt to the rigorous coursework and navigate my major as a first-gen and low-income student. I lost precious study time because I had to work to support myself and my family, and I lost some of my scholarships during freshman year due to GPA requirements. Gradually, I learned how to study, ask for help, and apply for more scholarships and resume-building opportunities. I served as a student government representative, a research assistant in the UT College of Education, and a J.J. Pickle Fellow in the UT Department of Government. I conducted research in Havana, Cuba on a UT-sponsored scholarship and studied social entrepreneurship in Beijing, China as a Fund for Education Abroad scholar. I worked 30+ hour weeks as a tutor for wealthy families and policy director in school finance at a government relations firm, all while maintaining full-time student status. In summer 2019, I graduated and moved to Washington, D.C., to work in the U.S. House Financial Services Committee as a Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute Fellow. I founded Dao Academic Consulting to address the intersections of financial literacy, academia, and career navigation with other first-gen and QTBIPOC students and professionals.