Pang Chang celebrates 20 years at Walk-In

Twenty years ago, Pang Chang was fresh out of college with a bachelor’s degree in social work, and she was looking for a job.

She came across Walk-In Counseling Center and was intrigued. “When I read Walk-In’s mission of providing counseling for free, that really caught my attention. Everything for free? I had never heard of that — and I thought it was pretty awesome.”

Pang originally planned to study physical therapy and had done an internship at the Courage Center. But a career assessment at St. Catherine’s University recommended social work. She fell in love with the field immediately.

“This is everything I believe in,” Pang recalls thinking. “I care about people and I’m pretty good at understanding where they are coming from. … I’ll continue with social work and see where it leads me.”

After two interviews, Pang got the job at Walk-In as office coordinator. At first, she thought she might stay for a year or two. But one thing led to another.

After Walk-In adopted electronic record keeping, Pang added database management to her job. A few years later, the volunteer coordinator left, and Pang was asked to take that on as well. She is now Director of Volunteers.

Through the years, she and her husband Tsia (her high school sweetheart) had four children, all of whom have helped with volunteer tasks for Walk-In.

“I stayed on forever because of the staff and volunteers I get to work with,” she says. Now that she creates the clinic schedule and provides orientation for new volunteers, she works closely with the 100-plus volunteer professionals.

“It’s amazing how much commitment our volunteers put into the work they do at Walk-In. Everyone I reach out to is always willing to help where they are needed, by picking up an extra shift, or even signing up for an extra team when we are short. It’s rewarding working with the volunteers.”

When she was office coordinator, Pang could see from the front desk how transformative counseling could be. “I would see people coming in who were really distressed or crying,” Pang recalls. “And when they left, they would be able to smile. They were feeling so much better.”

“That’s when you know you made a difference in someone’s relationship or someone’s life,” Pang says. “That’s what makes me want to come in every day.”