From Campus to Career
For Maixee Vang—known professionally as Maycee Vee—the road to success was paved through a decade of dedication in the heart of Southern Minnesota. While she currently resides in the Cambridge-Blaine area, Maycee’s identity as a professional and a scholar was forged during her twelve years at Minnesota State University, Mankato. Maycee describes her time at Mankato as the period when she was balancing the rigors of academia with deep personal growth. Her educational journey was extensive, resulting in both a Bachelor’s in Psychology and a Master’s in Counseling Student Personnel. When reflecting on the physical spaces that defined her collegiate experience, Maycee highlights the campus library as a site of profound impact. It was within these walls that she conducted the research and study that would eventually launch her into the professional world. For Maycee, the Mankato campus represents more than just a school; it is a significant space in the broader Hmong-American story, illustrating the transformative power of higher education for second-generation immigrants.
Maycee’s story began far from the snowy landscapes of Minnesota. Born in a refugee camp in Thailand in 1994, she arrived in the United States as a one-year-old in 1995. While she has no direct memories of the camp, the history of the Hmong people and the war-torn narratives shared by her grandparents serve as a powerful backdrop to her modern achievements. "I can only know stories and pictures," she explains, but those stories have clearly fueled her drive to succeed in the state she has called home her entire life.
Today, Maycee has traded the quiet of the library for the "crazy schedule" of a small business owner. Embracing the 24/7 hustle of an entrepreneur, she carries the lessons learned in Mankato into the competitive business world. Whether she is operating under her government name or her stage name, Maycee Vee, her journey serves as a bridge between the historical struggles of her ancestors and the limitless opportunities of the Minnesota entrepreneurial scene. Maycee’s experience at Mankato stands as a testament to how specific spaces—from libraries to lecture halls—become sacred ground where new chapters of the Hmong diaspora are written.
Finding Self in the Silence: Maycee Vang’s Decade at Memorial Library
For many students, a university library is a place to cram for exams. For Maycee Vang, the four walls of the MSU Memorial Library at Minnesota State University, Mankato, were the setting for a decade-long journey of internal discovery. Maycee’s history with Mankato started earlier than most; she bypassed her senior year of high school to enroll in the PSEO program, entering the university with a sense of wonder. "It was big," she recalls of her first visit to the four-story structure. "It was one of the biggest libraries I’ve ever been in." While the main floor buzzed with activity, Maycee found her home on the third floor. In the academic culture of Mankato, the higher you climb in the library, the quieter the atmosphere becomes. In that silence, Maycee discovered that college was about more than just textbooks.
"I’ve realized that when you go to college, it’s not about studying people, but it’s about studying yourself," Maycee explains. "Studying who you are, what can you achieve, what are your talents, and what can you do to make an impact." The library wasn't just a place for solitary reflection; it was where Maycee served as a tutor, collaborating with faculty and staff to advance student academics. These connections proved vital. She credits the professors and mentors she met on campus with moving her out of "survival mode" and opening doors to the research opportunities that defined her Bachelor’s in Psychology and Master’s in Counseling Student Personnel. When she wasn't in the quiet of the stacks, Maycee was part of the vibrant energy at the Centennial Student Union (CSU). As a hub for multicultural students, the CSU Ballroom served as the stage for the Annual Hmong New Year, a cornerstone event where Maycee and her peers shared Hmong history and culture with the wider Mankato community. Though her final years were consumed by the rigors of her capstone and master’s research, the CSU remained a significant touchstone—a place where the "teacher's college" of the past transformed into a diverse, modern institution. Now a successful entrepreneur, Maycee views the Mankato campus not just as an alma mater, but as the "space" that allowed her to curate her own story. From the quiet third floor of Memorial Library to the bright lights of the CSU Ballroom, every corner of the campus played a part in turning a first-generation student into a community leader.
Reflecting on a decade at Minnesota State University, Mankato, she describes her journey with three words: nostalgic, motivated, and inspired. But beneath the academic accolades lies a story of radical self-discipline and the art of the "code switch." Her academic pursuit wasn't just about a degree; it was a deep dive into the human mind. While many associate college life with late-night study sessions, Maycee’s most transformative moments often happened at 3:00 AM at Fitness for 10. For five years, she dedicated herself to powerlifting, spending up to four hours a day training her body and, more importantly, her mind. "I learned the power of visualization," Maycee says. She discovered that the "grit and resilience" required to hit a new personal record in the gym were the exact same tools needed to propel her through a grueling capstone project. By training herself to be mentally and physically elite, she ensured she could "show up" fully for her students and her community. What began as a personal discipline has recently evolved into her own fitness business, where she now helps others bridge the gap between physical health and academic success.
Empowering the Hmong Woman
Beyond the weights and the books, Maycee is a vocal advocate for self-love and female empowerment within the Hmong community. She notes that women often have a tendency to "pour into everyone else" at their own expense. Through her travels, speaking engagements, and teaching, she encourages Hmong women to claim their own mindsets and take pride in their individual achievements. From her early childhood in a Thai refugee camp to the "math pods" and quiet library stacks of Mankato, Maycee’s trajectory is one of constant expansion. She remains a woman who isn't just chasing goals—she’s building them. As she looks toward the next ten or twenty years, her mission remains clear: to stay healthy, stay positive, and continue helping her community uncover their own hidden power. For Maycee, legacy isn’t just a destination—it’s a conscious construction of "bringing her light into the world." While her professional foundation was built in the libraries and gyms of Mankato, the map of her life stretches from the early survival spaces of St. Paul to the reflective waters of Lake Superior.
Today, Maycee manages a multifaceted career as an entrepreneur, public speaker, and athlete. Whether she is code-switching between her government name and her stage name, Maycee Vee, or visualizing her next twenty years of growth, her journey is a testament to the power of intentionality. For her, every location is a chapter, and every chapter is an opportunity to help others rediscover their own light.