education: opening doors everywhere

- - - - -   Degrees Awarded   - - - - -                         

Degree: Bachelor of Mathematics                                 
Honours Operations Research, Co-operative Program 

Confer Date:           June 12, 2009

i did it. i actually did it :D

many days throughout my undergrad, i would sit and despise studying. sometimes due to the content, and other times due to sheer lack of motivation. it was at these times that i'd remind myself that education is a privilege. it's a privilege and it's empowering.

everyone has their own motives for educating themselves. education itself provides countless benefits: it equips one with tools needs to earn an income, immerses one in a field which they are passionate about, and it expands networks. however, i think the most important benefit of education is that it provides one with tools needed to make a positive impact on the world. education is a catalyst for human development.

i believe that my degree combined with my co-op experience has and will continue to open my doors for my future that otherwise would have been unreachable, nonetheless openable (is that a word?) i now have the knowledge, the skills and the network i need to begin to do my part in this world. to take a step forward from being a bystander and to begin to tackle pressing issues of my time. i am no longer a student stuck in libraries, but now more than ever, a global citizen.

i don't think an education is a free pass to create your own life, but a downpayment to enhancing lives.

the world is changing. jobs are being lost, systems are broken, and the world rests on the hands of everyone. not just humanitarians, but developers, accountants, architects, musicians, and everyone in between.

like sam davidson, nicholas negroponte, and jessica jackley, i will choose to use my education and skills set for change. i imagine a world in which every grad will also choose to do so, and that world is amazing.

on the right track.

i just finished the blue sweater and recommend it to anyone with even the slightest interest in international development. it is not a book which details all the problems of the world and leaves you depressed, nor does it paint a picture that going overseas with good intentions results in groundbreaking change instead, it is one that details the harsh realities of development and details the depths of the sacrifices that Jacqueline Novogratz's passions took her in her quest to seek justice.

Favourite lines/lessons:

...what is important is that individuals bring what they do best to the world.

...we need more people with tangible skills to contribute to building solutions that work for the poor.

Just start, don't wait for perfection. Just start and let the work teach you.

i don't think i need to expand on any of these because jacqueline says it best. it makes me think about the "thing" renjie, ruby, nick and i are working on and it gets me so excited. we're on the right track team.

almost...

total needed: $5500.00
grand total : $5030.50
________________
balance: $469.50

almost there. almost :D
god, i am truly amazed.

thanks everyone SO very much :D

paying it forward is not easy.

update: presented at pastor loel's church today and sold 10 boxes of cupcakes and 4 mocha cakes = $200 AND got to see old friends ;p not old as in old in age, but old as in from a long time ago.

yesterday, i was on my way to subway home when a young guy stopped me and said that he didn't need his day pass anymore, and asked if i wanted it. i thought it was a genuine act of kindness, so i appreciatively agreed and we parted ways.

before i even got to islington i figured i should pay it forward. i was on my way out of the station, which in my mind was the strategic location to pass along the favour, and began mission: give away day pass.

#1 a middle-aged woman. reaction: no, kept walking.
#2 a man in his 30's. reaction: ignored me. asked again, and he responded with vulgar words, thinking i was asking for money.
#3 a young couple. reaction: they had metropasses.
#4, #5 reaction: no and no.

admittedly, i was a bit discouraged and frustrated after the first 3 people, especially after the rude response by #2. isn't it a funny world we live in, where kindness is difficult to distribute? where there is no shortage of local and global issues to be dealt with and people stepping up to those issues, but also where a small, sincere act of kindness is turned away? so lessons learned:

lesson: kindness is not conditional
i admittedly did want to stop after #2 because i'm sensitive like that, but then got caught in the just-one-more mentality, where i kept believing the next person would take it. i tried a handful of times and may have failed to pay it forward, but if i had stopped trying after #1 or #2, then that would have been true failure. i would have failed because im conditioning my efforts based on the reactions of others. kindness should be taken like an exponential distribution: memory less of past failures or successes. efforts in kindness should not depend on whether the last person you tried to be kind to accepted or rejected your efforts.

edit: wow, that was mega mathie (:

lesson: not everyone wants help
i think this was highly humbling and an extremely important lesson for the summer. there i was, wide-eyed and ready to make someone's day brighter because someone had done so for me, but there were no takers. in cases where people had metropasses, i was trying to fix a problem that was already solved. in cases where people didn't have metropasses, i was trying to help in a situation where people didn't want/need help.

lesson: people don't want help from those they don't trust
a couple people responded with a kind "no, thank you" and others just reacted with a confused stare. however, had i attempted to give the pass to a friend or acquaintance, they would have surely taken it due to a level of trust we had built. in this lies the importance of building relationships. i faltered because i can't push kindness onto anyone. as good as my intentions were, clearly, it was not working for me. kindness is best passed on in its rawest, most sincere form. and this form can not be known by a complete stranger before a relationship is built. in order to effectively pass on kindness, a level of accountability and trust has to be built in order for the exchange of raw, sincere kindness to take place.

and also, if someone wants to give you their day pass, please take it. that just might make their day =)

vaccinate me.

happy thought of the day:

all my vaccinations/medications are completely, 100% covered by sunlife.

rabies: $600
malaria pills: $300
typhoid: $30
prevention of all of the above: priceless

what a blessing! gotta love insurance plans :D

corporate life? yes please.

i don't usually follow the stereotypes i should be associated with:
im a girl, but into math and all that technical analytical stuff ;p
im filipino, but can neither dance, sing or do anything art-sy
im a mathie, but don't play settlers, memorize 50 digits of pi, or spend friday nights programming.

however, i am admittedly in every way a gen y-er. i do everything with a sense of urgency and believe that i can and will make a positive impact. so when it came down to mapping out the next few years in my life, i was torn between pursuing a job that would make money versus a job that would make an impact because new grad jobs that combine the two are extremely rare and hard to come by. i was completely torn because i wanted both, but knew i had to sacrifice my happiness and could only have one.

"power without love is reckless and abusive, love without power is sentimental and anemic"

- martin luther king jr. (via the blue sweater)

i realized that change can be facilitated with power. jeff skoll and bill gates are just two examples of people that have leveraged their power (through ebay and microsoft) and shifted into the positions of changemakers. so i took my corporate job, and for a couple reasons:

1. i've always wanted this job
i'd been eyeing this job for a year and actually got an offer

2. corporate experience will be great experience for a social enterprise
true, i could also gain experience from starting my own social enterprise, but not the same kind of experience. my corporate job will prepare me for the business-side of social entrepreneurship. it's no secret that a number of not-for-profits fail because they're started and run with a passion for the cause and no business skills crucial to organization and decision-making. when i begin in SE, i want to have something meaningful to contribute. even if it's my privacy and security knowledge, that is something that we will definitely run into, and i think it's quite important for a SE to secure its financial and sensitive data.

3. consulting life is great exposure
i am fortunate enough to be a position where the average turnover rate is 3 years, and they don't expect you to make a career out of consulting. phew, pressure's off. deloitte is a great place to build a portfolio, to work with clients, and to have access to great mentors. i think and hope that this position will open many doors for me and help me build lasting relationships needed for a future SE.

4. people listen to people in power
i don't plan to become a partner within 3 years, but in 2 or 3 years time after i've built strong corporate and community relationships, i will have more power than i do now. credibility is never a bad thing to have.

5.i'm still trying to find my place
i don't think everyone should test out corporate life before going into social sector. after university, some people are more than ready for it and more than needed in it because they know their strengths. they know what they want to do, how they're going to accomplish it, and the means to meet that goal. for me, i'm still trying to figure it out. i'm still unsure of what my purpose is in life, where i can have the biggest "impact" and what skills i will need to use. i'm still exploring and juggling a few things in hopes of finding my calling. hehe, so cheesy. i know this summer will be life changing, and i'm going to hopefully get some answers to my unknowns.

what are you passionate about?

the latest buzz in the gta has certainly been surrounding the tamil protesters. how 5000 gathered and shut down the gardiner after news that at least 378 civilians had been killed in a safe zone. i support neither the genocide occurring or the unlawful act of the protesters, but am amazed at the action being taken.

i've grown up in the gta and have never heard, nor have ever thought that such a thing could happen. there have been many protests in and around toronto, but never like this.

so i think about my beliefs, and what i would stick up for. if there was a civil war going on in the philippines that i believed was unjust, would i protest? clean water is my soft spot, but would i protest in hopes of getting the government to take action on the 1.1 billion people without clean water? in fact, is there any cause that i would be willing to run onto the gardiner and stop traffic for?

right now, my answers would be: i don't know, i don't know, and i don't know.

this brings me back to the vision of the icare project: getting people to care, and to be passionate about a social issue, any social issue. for some people this issue is buried deep down inside, and for others, you can see it in there eyes. even the people with the hardest hearts surely must care about something. stray animals or runaway teens, refugees or quietness in the community, anything really.

i think the shutdown was fuelled by a desperate passion for the issue the protesters believed in. in a way, this challenges me to be more active and less passive concerning issues i feel strongly about. less blogging, more action. less thinking, more doing.

passion: clean water
action: everything it takes to provide everyone access to clean water and nothing less

what would you do to seek justice for what you truly believe in?

the power of prayer

apologies to anyone who's been waiting for a real post. i'm amused that during finals time, i would find many opportunities to post, but now that school is done, i haven't made any time at all! there really are no excuses, so what have i been doing? going full-swing into fundraising.

as today is the 58th observed national prayer day and obama signed the prayer day proclamation, it makes me think about the power of prayer.

i gave my presentation at church, and told people how God was revealing His plan for me through answered prayers. i told them how i was daunted by cost of the trip, then how Helen informed me that they had overestimated by $2000. i also told how i was worried about going alone, but then Kathleen decided to also go to Malawi and we'll most likely live together. and more recently, i've been praying about getting my funds in for tomorrow's flight booking deadline. 24h ago, i was $700 short. after 2 phone calls and being informed that my ticket went down $200 and i am now $400 over and almost half-way to $6000 =) amazing, isn't it?

while going through the truth project, one of the first questions they asked was

"do you really believe that what you believe is really real?"

it's a tough question to swallow but if i could somehow answer "yes", then wouldn't my every action be done so with humility and love? if i did really believe in the power of prayer, wouldn't i be on my knees praying all day instead of trying to make time for prayer?

i have personally experienced the power of diligent prayer. the wonder and amazement of praying for something days and weeks on end and seeing the prayer answered =) i've also experienced frustration with prayer. praying for sometihng for days and weeks on end, only to hear God say "No, not now."

last week, 10-year-old ella from church gave me this:












the two things i worry (and pray) about most are: being effective and raising funds. it's amazing for me to see ella&cd shake their allowances out of their piggy banks for my benefit when they dont fully understand what im doing. somtimes i need to be more like ella and blur out the fine details and simply understand that God will have His way in my life. and really believe that what i believe is really real.

"for when two or three are gathered in My name, there I am with them."

- matthew 18:20