Honoring AAPI month: interview with Q. Pham
In May, as we celebrate the contributions of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) during AAPI Heritage Month, we take a moment to share stories and learn about our teammates. Here we share our interview with Q. Pham, Senior Technical Sales Manager, about his family’s background and his path to a career in energy storage:
“I was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, but my parents were born in Vietnam and lived through the Vietnam War. My father served as a paratrooper in the Army for the South Vietnamese--he still has the scars from bullet wounds. After he escaped as a POW, he made his way to the United States where he reunited with my mother, and they settled in Oklahoma City. My parents started with nothing. My father spent years working as a plumber after learning English, then studied on his own for licensure to open his own HVAC and plumbing business, while my mom supported our family of 4 siblings as a blue collar factory worker. In the summers off from high school, I would help my dad do his rounds fixing AC units when it’s 100F outside, and even much hotter than that when working inside an attic. Winters can be equally harsh when you are outside working on a heating system or replacing a frozen water line. There is no question that my parents’ work ethic imprinted on me. They always emphasized that we needed to study hard and excel in on our work.
Through my parents’ support, I graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of Oklahoma, and started my career in power generation when I moved to Houston. Eventually the clean energy transition led me to batteries and the energy storage market. Since then, the market has grown exponentially, and my experience has broadened with it. At Terrasun, we’re now submitting proposals for projects the size of the entire installed base only 10 years ago. The growth is incredible and I’m fortunate to have chosen the path to this industry. Every energy storage project we integrate brings us one step closer to a sustainable energy future.”