Central MA Up + Comer: Ivy Child International’s Shan Yi Koay

Thursday, August 08, 2013

Susan Wagner, GoLocalWorcester Contributor

Shan Yi Koay of Ivy Child International dreams of a career that combines her love of making people happy, food, and traveling.

GoLocalWorcester introduces Central MA Up + Comers, a weekly profile of a member of the next generation as they begin making their mark on the Central MA workforce and community. Join us every Thursday for a look at the careers and lifestyles of the local digital generation.

Shan Yi Koay: Executive Assistant to the President and CEO of Ivy Child International

SW: We are introducing some of the younger generation who is starting to or is making their mark on the Central MA community. What career have you chosen to move forward in?

SK: I am currently the Executive Assistant to the President and CEO of Ivy Child International, a non-profit organization that works to improve the mental health and well-being of children through community health programs such as yoga and mindfulness. Having just graduated with a Masters in International Development and Social Change, this is an ideal career path for me to dive into.

SW: Can you explain exactly what your position entails?

SK: When people see my title, they often assume that I mostly do admin work. However, my job is all-encompassing and changes according to the organization’s priorities and projects. While I schedule appointments with clients, prepare documents, draft project proposals, and other admin work, I also design and create marketing materials, plan events, and even have the opportunity to learn and facilitate facets of programs (i.e. yoga). It’s a unique and amazing learning experience.

SW: Can you describe a typical day in your life?

SK: While there are no ‘typical’ days, there are three main components of my everyday life that remain consistent: work, food, and gym. When I was still in grad school last semester, I worked as a Graduate Research Assistant in my department during the day, attended classes in the afternoon, taught piano in the evening, and worked as a marketing assistant for a real estate agent at night. In between, I would squeeze in some gym time, volunteer with community organizations, and eat of course. The summer has been a lot more relaxed–although I work full time with Ivy Child, I find that I have more time to cook, stay active, and still have a social life. Working with Ivy Child has also taught me to integrate ‘mindful time’ into my busy schedule, where I can take a few moments to pause, breathe, reflect, and be thankful.

SW: There is a lot of talk about high college debt for your generation. Is that something you have had to deal with?

SK: Thankfully, no. This is something I’m beyond grateful to my parents for. They’ve always discouraged me from taking out loans and have supported me throughout my entire education. I am truly blessed!

SW: What is your dream job?

SK: I have multiple dream jobs. One is born out of my innate love for food and all things related to food. I’ve always wanted to be a culinary explorer/TV host who travels around the world, takes photos of food, writes about the experience, and then shares it with people. This has always been an ideal job because it entails everything that I love–food, travelling, writing, sharing my love of food, and making people happy.

My other dream job is to run an organization like Ivy Child. Not only is this organization committed to addressing important mental health issues in society, but it’s also an organization that prizes and respects its team members. There’s such an immense feeling of family and community within our organization–something that is pretty rare. The work atmosphere is one of my favorite aspects of the job and I believe it has a lot to do with the Founder and President, Rose Pavlov and the fact that we are such a mindfulness-based organization.

SW: What is your favorite piece of technology?

SK: My iPhone, for sure. With smart phones these days, you really have the world at your fingertips. I can Skype with my parents in Malaysia, Whatsapp my friends worldwide, send emails, edit photos, listen to music, view and share documents, check the weather, and even deposit checks. All this from my palm–it’s super efficient and convenient.

SW: What do you listen to?

SK: I don’t own an iPod but I do use my iPhone to listen to music. Just last year, I discovered 8tracks, which is a music app similar to Spotify or Soundcloud. 8tracks always keeps things interesting for me because unlike Pandora, which plays mainstream and mostly original mixes, 8tracks allows people to create their own playlists, which they can continue to edit at anytime. Its unique feature is that it allows you to search for playlists according to your mood or ‘key words’. I’ve discovered so many new songs, different versions of songs, and genres of music than I have before. It’s also convenient because you can save songs and playlists and access them from both your phone and computer.

SW: What is your favorite social networking site?

SK: Facebook and Instagram. Because I am a third-culture kid, I use Facebook to stay connected with friends and family across the globe. Instagram is a nice break from Facebook where I can enjoy photography and follow my favorite bloggers without the heavy text and drama that Facebook can bring. I’ve done pretty well staying away from other sites like Twitter and Pinterest. It’s too much for me!

SW: What do you do away from your career?

I enjoy hanging out with friends, travelling, cooking, playing the piano, watching shows, and trying/discovering/learning new things. I also love playing badminton and racquetball.

SW: Who is the biggest influence in your life?

SK: This is a tough question to answer, as I don’t have one person in particular. I’ve had and have many amazing people in my life that I admire and look up to, my parents included. I will say that my boss, Rose Pavlov is my most recent and major influence in my life. She’s more than just a boss. She’s also my mentor, a motherly figure, a friend, a one-woman powerhouse, and a role model. Not only is she a mother of two, but also it’s amazing how far Ivy Child has come in the last two years because of her commitment, hard work, and true passion for the work she believes in. Her work ethic is phenomenal and is her strongest attribute of which I am learning from and hope to emulate in my own life. In addition, she has a natural gift of inspiring others–one that has drawn me and many others to the organization.

SW: What is something few people know about you?

SK: I understand and speak basic Bengali (The national language of Bangladesh). I’m also a major foodie and am in the process of creating a food blog/website titled “Food Shan-anigans”. It’s corny, but I like it.

SW: Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

SK: In 10 years I hope to continue to progress in my career in the field of International Development (working a job that is both meaningful and fun) and hopefully have started a family as well.

With more than 25 years of leadership experience, Susan Wagner has been known for driving events, initiatives, launches, and openings through her company Susan Wagner PR. In this challenging economy, she has begun a new division to offer affordable start-up packages to new and emerging small businesses and non-profit organizations that include professional writing services, websites, collateral, marketing, social media, grassroots outreach and PR campaigns.