Mai Tran Thuy: Inspiring with Humour and Heart

Mai brings joy wherever she goes. Whether taking on work challenges as a fun game or actively engaging in charitable activities, Mai approaches every project with infectious enthusiasm and a determination to make a positive impact. Find out how she got involved with ASW’s 50 Random Acts of Kindness, her solo motorcycle adventure, and her secret for adding flavour to life!

1. Hi Mai, could you tell us a bit about yourself? Outside of work, what do you enjoy doing? What are your hobbies and interests?

I am someone who embraces a simple lifestyle and finds joy in bringing happiness to others, which in turn brings joy to myself. I appreciate freedom, enjoy traveling, and love playing with animals. While I have a dislike for receiving roses, if it were 999 roses, I might reconsider! (laughs)

2. What was your career like before you joined ASW? How did you start at ASW?

I worked as a full stack .NET developer for over 5 years. However, I found myself more passionate about working with data, so I decided to explore and transition into Business Intelligence – MSSQL.

Before joining ASW, I was working as a BI DEV for a startup company in Vietnam, collaborating on a project with a Swiss company. One day, I came across a job posting from ASW on ITViec, seeking candidates for a BI position. After reading the job description, I felt it was a perfect fit for my career aspirations in the data field. Moreover, ASW Global is a company that I have been familiar with since I started working, and I have always desired to be a part of their work environment.

3. Can you tell us more about your role here at ASW? What’s a regular day like for you?

Currently, I am working as a Senior BI for our client partner EML. My daily tasks involve processing raw data from Excel files, CSV files, or user databases and transforming them into reports that serve the business needs of the users.

4. What are the challenges that you usually encounter in your line of work and how do you handle them?

I have to explain my code ideas to my non-technical boss. I have to think and find ways to express them in business language instead of technical terms. I try to associate them with a simple system and describe the analysis flow, combining the use of visuals to make it easier to understand.

5. How do you achieve work-life balance?

For me, I don’t think I can balance life and work. Because I love playing a lot! (laughs) Sometimes, when I encounter a challenging task at work, I see it as a fun game and play it relentlessly until I succeed. I can even play it on weekends if I want to. And sometimes, a trip can be an important task that I feel I need to undertake. Simply put, just give your all to whatever you’re doing with enthusiasm and maximum energy.

6. You recommended the remote community to ASW’s 50 Random Acts of Kindness program. Can you share with us your experience regarding this project?

My team was planning a trip to Ban Me Thuot to bring food and a portion of money to help the impoverished ethnic communities. We needed a significant amount of funding for this project as there are 50 families in need of assistance. And I, along with my friends, were raising funds for the project.

Initially, I didn’t recall ASW’s 50 Random Acts of Kindness program. During a conversation with Ms. Ha, she suggested that I reach out to ASW’s program. Ms. Ha also supported me in sending an introductory email about our project. We were fortunate that our team received support from ASW, and they made a meaningful contribution to our project.

7. Your spirit of volunteerism is quite inspiring! Have you done previous advocacy projects before? What moves you to get involved in these projects?

The starting point for this was that I grew up as a Catholic in a lively environment with many activities at the church. I don’t remember exactly how old I was, but the first meaningful activity for me and my friends was when we pooled together whatever little money we had and asked our parents, uncles, aunts, and other adults at the church for additional contributions.

With that money, we bought some candies, instant noodles, and then packaged them into Christmas gifts to distribute to the homeless. Every year when Christmas comes, we continue these activities up to now. My friends and I formed a group back in the day, and the group’s funding would come from contributions from each member, with everyone giving what they can. Then we decided to embark on longer trips to help and bring joy to others.

8. How would you encourage others to be more active in supporting advocacies?

For example, during a charity trip to Dak Lak, I personally went there to witness the difficult circumstances, captured images firsthand, and then returned home to plan in detail how to help them. I shared this with the members of my activity group, who had accompanied me on many small trips before. Then my friends spread the message to their own friends and families. Those whom we knew and trusted became a source of strength that gradually spread further.

I don’t dare to encourage everyone, but I take action first and send them a message that the place needs their support. Spreading the message starts from those close to me, the friends who trust me. And it’s important that in everything you do, you must be REAL and CLEAR.

9. What do you consider your top 3 achievements (whether at ASW or in your personal life)?

I believe I don’t have any outstanding achievements, but there is one memorable experience that stands out to me: The first time I owned a motorcycle and rode it alone for a distance of 800km (round trip). It was a complete feeling of freedom, and I felt like I had surpassed my own limitations.

10. Is there a personal or professional goal that you’ve always wanted to accomplish?

I want a lot of things, too many to list! (laughs) But the one thing I want to achieve right now is to give my all, play my best, and bring joy to the people around me.

11. Thanks for your time! Before we go, what inspirational message or career advice would you like to share with your fellow ASW colleagues?

I’m not sure if I have the ability to inspire others, but personally, I enjoy humour and being playful. Furthermore, I encourage you to give your all in everything you do and truly enjoy what you’re doing, whether it’s work, a leisure trip, a coffee session, or reading a book. When you genuinely enjoy something, you’ll have the energy and time to complete it. And don’t forget to always laugh a lot— a touch of humour adds flavour to life.