My name is David Ziaya and I am
currently the Chief
Administrative Officer of the US
Census Bureau.
I'm a first generation
professional from a small rural
based community in Michigan of
roughly fourteen hundred people.
My father worked at the local A
and P grocery store fifty miles
away as a Stocker/Checker in the
evening shift.
My mother worked as a medical
transcriptionist at the local
hospital to help supplement
income once my brother and I
were old enough to be home
alone.
Going to college was always part
of the plan for me as my parents
wanted me to do better and more
with my life.
I earned some scholarships as
the salutatorian of my class and
the scholarships covered about
half of my room and board and
tuition.
So I supplemented my financial
aid with a work study program.
Having to balance work and
school helped me develop a
strong work ethic and a
determination to succeed.
My first job in the federal
government was in the Chicago
office of public housing as a
housing management assistant GS7
with the promotion potential to
the GS12.
There are many ways in which I
was inadequately prepared for my
career but this example of
financial illiteracy is one I
will never forget.
I found a great high rise
apartment allowed me to walk to
work and get to know the city.
Although I had never paid rent
before I did the math based on
my annual salary and thought it
was fine.
But I wasn't informed about
things like retirement, life
insurance, thrift savings plan,
and other deductions that
mysteriously appeared on my pay
stub.
In the end my first paycheck
barely covered half of my rent
and I quickly realized this was
an unsustainable situation.
I wish there would have been
programs or classes to help
think about this and felt
foolish for not thinking about
it when deciding where to live.
My mentors and supervisors
helped me learn skills that
allowed me to be confident in my
new found abilities.
I learned how to be a part of a
workplace culture and how to
successfully navigate within
that culture through
observation, commitment, and
being genuine to my colleagues
and the mission at hand.
I think that my parents example
of hard work to provide for
their family and sacrifices were
massive influencing factors on
who I am today.
