Bio

Welcome to my profile page! My name is Quy Ma (pronounced kwee maw, if you were curious).

I’m 32 years old and I’m a first-generation Vietnamese American, the oldest of three boys. My parents immigrated to the United States after the Vietnam War to start a new life, away from an oppressive regime in the 1980s.

I was born in Oakland, California, raised in Houston, Texas, and now live in the beautiful state of Utah with my wife and two Siberian Huskies.

I grew up poor, but like many immigrant parents, my parents worked very hard to provide us a living. If you looked up the definition of “The American Dream” in the dictionary, I’m sure you’d find a picture of my parents. They drove themselves relentlessly and were able to help put three boys through college. In turn, they instilled those same hard-working values in each of us.

I went to Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas where I majored in political science/government and history.

Throughout my life, I’ve been in a multitude of leadership roles. I’m experienced with team development, career coaching, and mentoring others. In terms of business passions, I’m obsessed with new technologies, innovation, disruption, and using data to make decisions.

After school, I became one of the youngest store directors for a grocery store chain in Texas called H-E-B. I was in charge of large numbers of people and teams, sometimes up to 200 employees. Some of the employees I oversaw had been working in the industry longer than I had been born!

I ended up burning out in retail and was looking for a career change. A friend of mine reached out and asked if I was interested in an opportunity in being a data analyst for the food industry. I had no experience with spreadsheets, so I quickly taught myself everything I needed to know about Excel, Business Intelligence, and building decks before the interview.

I got the job. And what a ride it has been!

Nowadays, I’m a Director of Consumer Insights & Market Research in the cellular accessories and outdoor industry. I’m basically the guy who sends you surveys in your inbox, asking if you had a good experience with a product or service. As a consumer insights leader, my job is to understand the customer’s needs.

I’m a proud globalist, male feminist, history/geography nerd (I can pretty much point out anything on a map!), tech enthusiast, gamer, political junkie, and an empath.

In my free time, I love to play video games, travel, go on hikes, play with my dogs, read, watch the latest sci-fi/fantasy flicks, and keep up with politics. I’ve also taken up writing and astrophotography recently.

I’m a human sponge and love to read voraciously. I’m just as passionate about learning as I am about teaching others. I’m also full of useless trivia facts. If there are ever any trivia games being hosted out there, count me in!

In terms of interests, I’m obsessed with technology, science, dinosaurs, space, food, and cartography. I even have a tattoo on my arm of a fossilized Albertosaurus.

I’m passionate about career growth, the planet, self-development, mental health wellness, the pursuit of happiness, racial and gender equality, and continuous improvement. You’ll find many of my writings reflect these topics.

I only just recently got into blogging, starting my Medium journey in September 2020. I felt that my experiences offer me a unique perspective and would love to share that with all of you. I’m on a journey to help make the world a more empathetic and equal place.

Now that you know everything there is to know about me, keep scrolling down to see my top & recent stories. Introduce yourself in my About Me Stories publication as well!

Please don’t ever hesitate to let me know your thoughts on anything. I love feedback and connecting with others. I also love helping others to the best of my abilities so feel free to ask me any questions. No question is a dumb question to me.

Cheers!

-Quy

My Publications

About Me Stories

I had noticed that lots of people were self-publishing “About Me” posts. Unless you had a huge following, these introductory posts didn’t have an audience. So I wanted to make a publication to house all of these mini-autobiographies that featured the best part of Medium: The Authors and Writers!

Come introduce yourself to us! I publish almost all stories as long as they match the guidelines. Great place for beginner bloggers to get acquainted with the site!

Fill in the Blanks

This is my newest publication called Fill in the Blanks, inspired by the classic game, Mad Libs! It’s become quite the game on Medium. Everyone can participate!

Here’s how it works: A writer submits a story, based on the prompts provided. The writer leaves a few words out, in the form of blanks.

Other readers contribute r words to the writers’ story which are randomly selected by the editors. The results are hilarious with the mashups and community-driven.

Come join the fun! Accepting ALL writers. Get ready for some crazy, hilarious, whacky stories!

What do I write about?

I’m currently a Top Writer in Writing, Leadership. I’ve achieved Top Writer in Sustainability and Innovation in the past.

I cover a myriad of other topics too. I frequently write about mental health, feminism, race, equality, career advice, work-related stuff, productivity, video games, and technology.

Basically, I write whatever comes to mind!

My Top Articles

Updated 1/15/2021

Six Things I Accomplished in Less Than Two Months on Medium in Better Marketing

Why I’m Not Worried About Saving for Retirement in The Ascent

How I Found Out I Had Borderline Personality Disorder in Invisible Illness

How I Accidently Got Published in the Biggest Publication on Medium in The Innovation

The 6 Best Tips for First-Time Managers in Curious

How to contact me

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Send me an Email: quymawrites@gmail.com