How I went from 50% Underpaid to Helping Women Make Millions More

I graduated with Latin Honors from Smith College — but I was earning 50% of the going market range.

What went wrong?

I'm an '04 alum. 20th reunion in '24 gets two thumbs up.

As a first generation immigrant, I’ve long been a student of the “The Gap.” No, not the jeans company.

Here's what I mean: 

I moved from South Korea to the U.S. as a seven-year old and quickly learned that survival depends on how well you can bridge the gap between cultures, languages, and paradigms.

At nine, I was the chief translator and negotiator (with the utility company, school, etc.) for my immigrant parents whose way of adapting was to double down on grit and hard work.

I didn’t choose the 'Gap,' the 'Gap' chose me. And apparently, so did these glasses.

I was studious in high school, got a scholarship to Smith College and, after college, landed a role as a hedge fund analyst because of my education.

On paper, I was winning.

In reality? 

I felt like a failure.

A year in, I discovered I was making 50% of the going market range.

I had “Gold Star” credentials and was multilingual, yet I had neither language for advocating for my own potential nor the confidence to do it.

In hindsight, I saw I was caught in Chronic Overachiever Trap (aka the Good Girl Trap).

I assumed the work would speak for itself. I waited for acknowledgment and accolades that never arrived.

I watched others, often less qualified but almost always male and pale, get the credit and the promotion because they knew how to play a game I wasn’t even invited to.

A rare archival photo of me testing the structural integrity of a neutral expression. No people pleasing. No forced smile. Not bad.

Here’s the truth: 

Standard career advancement advice wasn’t written for folks like me and you.

Conventional "best practices" don't center women, BIPOC, immigrants, and marginalized leaders. 

They don't account for the "existential threat" we feel when we try to take up space in a biased world.

So when I started figuring this self-advocacy piece out for myself, I realized I didn't just need a script; I needed a rewire. 

I discovered that patterns of accommodating, hiding, and staying silent are actually stress-reactions habituated into neural pathways.

To move forward, I got coached and leveraged neuroplasticity—pruning stagnant neuronal pathways of compliance to forge new trails of sovereignty.

Doubting ourselves is learned. 

Neuroplasticity is in your nature. Waiting to be reclaimed.

If you're wondering, "But what even is neuroplasticty?" this recent article from The Journal of Neurobehavioral Sciences breaks down exactly how our brains can be rewired in coaching for the kinds of behavioral change that inject joy and confidence back into your career.

Better yet, you can watch me lead a neuroplasticity workshop and listen to a real client sharing her first-hand review of these tools.

Joy-fest: Leading an advocacy workshop for the Global Network of Women Peacebuilders in NYC.

Now, I help overachievers bridge the gap between effort and impact, while forging new neural pathways of a confident sovereign—the true owner of their career trajectory.

And in the ten years I've worked as a coach, I've helped hundreds of women get promoted or promote themselves to CEO and increase their income by millions and counting.

We're just getting started. 

Ready to move from being under-appreciated to getting bolder, braver and better paid WITHOUT overworking or people-pleasing?

P.S. I've been floored by the flood of love I've received since sharing my recent chronic illness journey on social media. 

Gratitude is joy, and my heart is exuberant with joy. 

Thank you for reading. 
Thank you for being here.