Her Story
About LyAsia
My journey in finance began after graduating from Virginia State University with a Bachelor's of Science degree in business management. I started my career as a financial analyst at Wells Fargo, where I spent a year and 4 months in their rotational program. This gave me incredible opportunities to work as a controller, handling internal audit and risks and controls for the bank, and partnering with prestigious firms like KPMG and other big four accounting firms. In my second rotation, I worked on budgeting for the DEI program and the rotational analyst program, developing my skills in spreadsheets and financial planning. After Wells Fargo, I explored other paths, including working as a substitute teacher for 6 months at a charter school in North Carolina, where I incorporated business and finance gems into the curriculum, and as a level 4 group home worker helping kids with mental health issues and behavioral problems. Through these experiences, I realized how much I truly loved finance and crunching numbers. I moved back to Virginia and have been working as a revenue auditor at Live Casino in Virginia for 6 months now. I'm currently halfway through my Executive MBA program at Senior Union University, working toward completing that degree. My passion for business runs in my family - my grandmother was a business owner, my mother was a business owner, and both my aunts are currently business owners, so business truly runs in the family.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with LyAsia
01What do you attribute your success to?
I would have to give all kudos to my family for being my rock in hard situations where I went, oh my gosh, I don't know what to do. The first thing I do, I could call my mom, I could call my stepdad, or I could call my grandma, and my aunts and uncles and say, I don't know what to do, how should I navigate this? Or I'm able to reach out to a previous mentor to ask for advice. Having that support system of people I can turn to when I'm facing challenges has been absolutely crucial to my success.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I've received so far is that it's okay to start over and start fresh. It's okay not knowing what's next, it's okay to take that leap of faith without having the safety net, without knowing the possible outcome of it, and just taking that risk. I would say taking risks was one of the best things that I've heard so far in my career, and it's advice that has really shaped how I approach opportunities.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I would say keep making sure that you are networking with others that may not look like you, and finding somebody that will advocate for you. Yes, you are your own advocate, but having somebody else in your court to advocate for you goes a long way. It's so important to build those relationships and have people who will speak up for you and support your career growth.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
One of my biggest challenges has been my time management and learning how to say no. I'm so quick to say yes, I can do it, yes, I can do it, but I'm realizing I have to dial back, and it's okay to say no, I cannot complete this, or no, I cannot help you with this. I'm so used to helping and giving, but I'm realizing, okay, maybe I'm giving a little too much. Learning how to set boundaries for myself has been really important. As for opportunities in my field, it could go from a revenue auditor up to a manager, or working closely with the CFO of the company, or working with the VP of Finance of Live Casino in Virginia. I love that there's areas for opportunity and areas to pivot.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
I would say not just strength, but being resilient, and reliability, and being reliable is a very key value that I look for. Having the sense of community is also so important to me - being able to find not just a group of people, but finding in the workplace, finding that office setting where it's like, okay, I feel welcome, I feel at home, I know I can thrive in this environment. Those values of resilience, reliability, and community really guide both my work and personal life.
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