Lucia Hou: Does it all

Some people just seem to be able to take on the world without slowing and Lucia Hou is one of them.

Her career spans from winning Mrs Australia Globe Peoples Choice, Mrs Coral Sea Globe to Woman Of The Year 2018/2019 – just to name a few of her pageant titles – to ambassador for many philanthropic organisations here in Australia, to owner of a photography business and a property services company.

Add to her list of jobs, mothering two young children and it becomes difficult to imagine how busy life must be for Lucia.

“I manage my building and maintenance company and my children as my main priority. Having my own businesses allows me to be flexible to take conference calls and do philanthropy work in between,” Lucia explains.

“I balance all my social commitments to fall between the spare time and focus on areas that will make the greatest impact in that year. I also remember to honour myself and the people I love, so taking time for relationships I consider as my rewards. If you have a few hours a week to spare, you can indeed do so much, as a little goes a long way!”

Lucia Hou was born in Laos, the most bombed country in the world. The youngest of 11 siblings, her family escaped Laos when she was only 1 year old during the war. In the still of the night, Lucia’s parents & siblings escaped across the Mekong River in a canoe whilst armed soldiers lined the banks on guard. Her mother was forced to make the heart-breaking decision for the good of the whole family, to smother baby Lucia in her bosom every time she would cry out with fright, releasing her for a little bit of air when she would stop, knowing the crying would have been responsible for all their lives being in danger.

Lucia has lived in Australia for her whole life and now has approximately 200 immediate family members that have expanded into 3 generations of all different nationalities, including Greek, Indonesian, Thai, Chinese, Vietnamese, Russian and Philippine.

Her Italian name, Lucia, means ‘graceful light’. Fitting for one whose passion lies in photography, the art of capturing light. She has been described as an extremist in anything she puts her heart and soul into, whether it be diving, camping, roller blading or the many hats she wears in business.

Her focus is on influencing positive outcomes for change and empowerment and her career spans across many different platforms.

“My life aspiration encompasses passive self-improvement & inspiring others to live extraordinary lives whilst empowering their dreams and to always maintain integrity and empathy as a role model, providing great references in life, especially to my very own two children,” Lucia said.

Lucia has been blessed enough to be surrounded by people who provide great lessons and inspiration which has provided the footprint for her life’s purpose. Since she was young, she was surrounded by a loving and encouraging family, who instilled compassion and great morals in her life.

“I’ve had the pleasure of learning from so many successful people. I believe that you continue to grow with positive outcomes when you associate with people whom have achieved at a greater level then where you are at. I continue to learn with enthusiasm from people whom have achieved goals that I dream of reaching and then in return also mentor those whom look up to me, passing on the wisdom,” she said.

It has become one of Lucia’s biggest driving forces – to impact lives.

“In 2019 I was able to impact the world by being featured in over 50 magazines and news articles for my platform Project Karma and the again in Australia by being featured on national television on a documentary series ‘Behind The Sash’ for my platform National Homeless Collective,” she said.

She also saw more than 10,000 people across Australia join her platform for Mental Health Foundation Australia Walk and already has big plans for this year.

“I will continue empowering women in the pageant industry through my appointment as Ms Asia Pacific’s; Multicultural, South East Asian & Australian Director through my work in publication through the World Class Beauty Queens magazine as Editor In Chief.

“For International Women’s Day, I will be involved in holding an event called This Is Me, that will feature more than 30 models, some of which are blind, have disabilities, some elderly and all who have never been chosen to shine to celebrate their individualities,” Lucia said.

“If your heart tugs toward an issue of social injustice or you just want to help in anyway you can, listen to it, as the rewards are so great. There are so many foundations and organisations out there that you can be a part of, whether big or small.”