Payengxa Lor is the first Hmong woman to win Miss Universe Laos, therefore making her the first Hmong woman to compete in the MISS UNIVERSE Competiton. As a result of growing up poor, Lor recognized the struggles of poverty which motivated her to find a career in education. She believes that education can erase poverty.

Lor worked hard to teach herself English in order to become an English teacher. As a teacher, she has the ability to support herself to go to a university which she believes will inspire others like her. She believes English is not a key to success, but instead a tool to success, saying that “If you know English, you will be like a tiger with wings.”

Lor is also a volunteer for underprivileged people, a motivational speaker, and holds a silver medal in taekwondo.