What an Adventure!
Alum Comes Full Circle
By Sherry Cook

Courtney Pham may not be your “typical” SMS marketing alum in many ways. However those attributes which are typical of most successful persons--persistence, hard work, willingness to take risks-- play strongly in her personal story. Currently, a business/office manager for Pac-West Telecomm Company in San Diego, with responsibilities for the whole southern California region, Pham’s odyssey began in Vietnam before intersecting with SMSU then taking her to the West Coast.

“My family was one of the boat people who escaped from Vietnam during the post years of the Vietnam War. We lived in refugee camps in Malaysia and the Philippines until we had a sponsor from the Catholic Church. The Church’s branch was in Springfield, and that is why we came to Springfield in early 1982,” explains Pham. 

Some of the challenges she first faced were of course the language barrier, assimilating into a brand new culture and dealing with the cold weather. “I remember that Springfield was not as expanded as it is now, and there weren’t as many Chinese restaurants. I was not able to talk to anyone, and everyone in my class at that time thought I was “weird” looking because they hadn’t seen that many people of minority groups. Thank God the Church helped us assimilate and made it easy for us to fit into our new roles in a new country by providing our basic needs in the beginning. Our family really liked Springfield and made it our home for twenty-plus years.”

After attending Springfield’s Parkview High School, Pham made the next step on her educational journey by enrolling at SMSU. She originally chose Finance as a major. However, after taking her first marketing course with Peggy Gilbert, she was sold and soon switched her degree program to Marketing Management with a minor in Decision Analysis. After that, she was granted a graduate assistantship at SMS where she completed her MBA. 

While attending classes, her family opened a restaurant in Aurora, Missouri, a few miles down the road from Springfield. “I was able to use my education…in a turn-around situation, increasing sales by 24%. I reversed the previous owner’s negative image by combining a program of incentives targeted at frequent guests with a strong staff emphasis on customer service….” she explains.

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Pham didn’t just work and go to school however. She also participated in the Study Abroad program in Europe, going with SMSU Marketing faculty members Linda and Charlie Pettijohn. “That was a very fruitful and educating experience,” says the alum, “because we were able to compare the differences in management styles between US and European companies.”

After Europe, Pham wanted to expand her horizons even more and seek opportunities in the international business field. She moved to California because she had friends and relatives already in the region. 

In addition to her day in, day out duties with Pac-West, Pham juggles several different activities. She volunteers with the Boys and Girls Club to help fundraise and plan activities for them. Her most recent project with them was helping build a new playground. She also has started a consulting company called C.T. James Management Group, LLC. She explains, “We are event coordinators for Vietnamese companies in Vietnam who want to participate in trade shows…We also provide A-Z counseling for international students who want to study in the USA.” And, if that’s not enough, she’s also currently trying to pursue a doctoral program in human resources.

And now in many ways her journey has come full circle. Having just returned from Vietnam last month, Pham was invited to join a delegation hosted by the City of San Francisco to participate in an inaugural flight of an American air carrier (United Airlines) from San Francisco to Ho Chi Minh City. This was the first American air carrier to go back to Vietnam in the past 30 years.

As for parting advice for current students, Pham offers the following, “Stay focused on the goal and reach out to other students to build up relationships. And, enjoy life as a student.” Who better to offer those words of wisdom? Courtney Pham certainly seems to have practiced what she preaches—first as a newcomer to a strange land, then as an actively involved college student and now as an aspiring young business professional.

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