Faces of Play MPE: Says Grace

Play MPE can pick ‘em. And the ‘em in this case is employees, colleagues, team members…the proverbial what have you.  A shining example is newest member of the team, Grace Chao.  Apparent upon any conversation with Grace, she possesses both a worldview and disarming poise striking in a 22-year-old.

The young and hard-working accountant gave us a little of the scoop on her path to Play MPE.

A music fan herself (Coldplay is a fave), Grace’s job-hunting researching led her to Play MPE.

“I just graduated in the summer from university and I was just looking for accounting jobs. I actually did a couple internships in accounting firms before. I thought I would go over and try out the corporate side of things. I looked up and I saw this job ad and I thought I would apply and see how I like it and so far, it’s going very well.”  Indeed, it is!

Music is just one of Grace’s passions.  Fitting for her role as an accountant, she’s a numbers fan as well.  “I’m actually very passionate about multiple things. I like numbers. I also like words. Something that I really like to do is I love to write. It’s one of my hobbies.  One of my dreams actually when I retire is I wish to be an author.”

With a gift for both left and right -brained approaches, Grace nurtures the right brained side and knack for fiction writing as often as possible.  It’s a passion dating all the way back to high school. (a more distant memory for many of us!)

“Currently, I’m writing a fantasy… I’ve actually been working on that since high school and I’m hoping to edit it and maybe publish it one day.”   With a gift for numbers that has already impressed colleagues across the globe, Grace is on target to collect those publishing royalties in retirement.   Prior to her arrival at Play MPE, Grace attended McGill University, after which internships took her beyond her native British Columbia. “At my previous internships I worked in Taiwan and it was very different. Everything was very fast paced and it was a lot of pressure.”   Taiwan also was a treat for Grace’s foodie side, which she explores locally at events like Dine Out Vancouver.

Speaking about her goals, it’s clear that focus has long been an attribute, and one both modeled and encouraged by Grace’s parents. “My parents were pretty strict while I was growing up but they let me do what I want. They try to motivate me. I thought that’s pretty nice of them.”  An only child, Grace devoted downtime to her many interests, including piano, clarinet, and violin.  I really like playing the piano during the times when I’m free. When I’m upset I play and play out my emotions… I think people who grew up alone find ways to be creative so that we’re not so isolated by ourselves.”

Grace is a natural spokesperson for two books that come up during our conversation.  “A book I really liked was called Good to Great… Do you know the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People? I like that book because it really inspired me to become a better person and how I view life and the things around me.”

As for the things around her at Play MPE?  Those are great. “Everyone is very nice. Everyone is helpful. I’m learning a lot.  I really enjoy most of what I do here. Just interacting with different people. I’m an accountant. So, I sometimes talk to Alen. I talk with Katja to coordinate releases and stuff. I’ve also done some release approvals to help Alen when he was away, during certain days. And I really enjoy working with my manager. She’s also new. The two of us, we work together. We figure things out. If we make mistakes, we try to come up with solutions together and that’s a nice challenge for both.”

Welcome aboard, Grace!

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