Ha was born in Vietnam with Cerebral Palsy. She possesses an unwavering perseverance and a positive outlook in life that have propelled her to achieve difficult and important goals.

After graduating from the University of Maryland, with a B.S. in Computer Science, she spent five years doing film processing for minimum wage and without employee benefits. She knew there was an opportunity for her out there – determined to find it, she embarked on a search.

With a disability that affects her speech and having English as her second language, her job search process had been very frustrating. She felt that during interviews, companies focused on her limited English and disability, and not her abilities.

She contacted Montgomery Works One-Stop Career Center where career specialists could help her with her job search. It was clear from the first contact that Ha was a very determined person, who was looking for a career that would “use her mind and education.” With help from MontgomeryWorks and TransCen she started her quest for a long term career by participating in a paid work-based experience that allowed her to gain hands-on knowledge of certain accounting tasks and database management skills, adding to her list of employable assets.

Following a selective search, and taking into consideration Ha’s education and interests, a staffing consulting firm was approached. After hearing about Ha, they scheduled her for an interview and subsequently hired her for a contract position with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).  

After working 9 months for the consulting firm with outstanding performance, Ha successfully applied for a permanent position as an IT Assistant with NRC. She is now a full time federal employee responsible for an organizational web-based information system. During her three year tenure she has received several performance awards for going above and beyond what is required.

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