Meet Chantha Phai from Auckland.
What are you doing currently?
I studied for a Bachelor of Commerce at Victoria University of Wellington, majoring in Economics and Finance, and I’m currently a Finance Business Partner at Air New Zealand working in the area of passenger revenue.
What’s your journey to where you are now?
As a toddler, I immigrated to New Zealand with my parents in 1998 and as I grew up I attended a Duffy school. I still remember the excitement of receiving the physical catalogue each term and getting to choose brand new books to keep. I was also lucky in that my parents took me to the library most weekends so I could enjoy even more books – a lot of them were about airplanes which is perhaps why I ended up where I did (although I wanted to be a pilot!) I grew up translating letters and documents for my parents, as my English was better than theirs – something I wouldn’t have been able to do if not for Duffy and the good reading habits it fostered that enabled me to read at an above-age proficiency level. I benefitted greatly from the Duffy programme and it’s great to see it’s still going.
What was your favourite book and what book do you recommend people read?
I have most, if not all, of my books I was given by Duffy and my favourite were a series of four books called ‘Spy X’ by Peter Lerangis which I’ve read at least 10 times. As an adult, I’d recommend people read ‘Principles’ by Ray Dalio, a great book on how the economic machine of the world works and principles that guide great financial decision making, that also transcends to decisions in life more broadly.
What’s one piece of advice you’d give kids today?
Don’t stop reading. Even as life gets busier, still find the time to read. The more you read, the more you know and the more people you can relate to and talk with. It makes small talk easier as you have more things you can talk about which can lead to creating a meaningful connection with people. I have many great friends with diverse backgrounds because of this, which has been immensely rewarding in both my personal and professional life.