Discovering myself more through the Global Social Benefit Fellowship (GSBF) at Santa Clara University (SCU), I have been asked three questions: What brings me joy, What am I good at, and Who needs me? I believe the answers to these questions can be found in my reflection about what I have taken away from this fellowship.
After nine months of involvement with the Global Social Benefit Fellowship, what will I take away from it? Well to start off, it has made me look at the world differently than a year ago. The people, places, and education I have learned did enlighten me to see and act in a new way. The fellowship has introduced me to new approaches on how one can promote greater social benefit in out world. The GSBF has definitely enhanced my education to delve into various social justice issues that I have been passionate about reducing or eradicating. From previous participation in SCU’s Casa de la Solidaridad study abroad program, I encountered terrible poverty and oppression for the first time. As president of my high school’s Mission Haiti club, I was indirectly affected by poverty through our deliveries of homemade friendship bracelets and school/medical supplies. From my involvement with Homeboy Industries in Los Angeles, CA, I learned about the importance of human dignity from the issue of gang violence. These social justice issues and many others continue to affect social structures and interactions. However, that just gives us more reason to fight these problems with creative and innovative strategies for greater change.
Through research, discussions, and fieldwork observations in a developing country, I have been inspired by the intellectual thought and wisdom learned. Two books that the fellows and I read are John Elkinton’s Power of Unreasonable People and Chris Lowney’s Heroic Leadership. Each one of these books has been insightful, expressing new and innovative ideas for passionate leaders in our world. From The Power of Unreasonable People, I learned that we all have the ability to promote change that may be askew from the norm. As George Bernard Shaw once stated, “The reasonable man adapts himself to the world, the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.” Whether it is proposing a risky opportunity or an unconventional business strategy, we should have confidence in its success and to not let others trample over our different or crazy ideas. We are in the age of new thinking and new ways of solving social, economic, and environmental issues, so why not walk, or better yet, lead down that path of positive change for future markets. Now is the time to start learning from, partnering with, and investing in these people who are changing the way societies can better function and interact in the world.
From my fieldwork in the Philippines, the fellowship gave me the opportunity to view emerging global issues with a new eye. I was not only exposed to poverty with an unequal gap between the rich and the poor, but I also witnessed empowerment, self-sufficiency, and community building. Working with Rags2Riches, Inc., I learned to be touched by my experience. There, I met Filipinos who challenged my perspectives of the developing world and social issues that continue to be prevalent.
To reflect on a few points from Heroic Leadership, I have learned to never stop learning and asking questions as two fundamental practices of being a leader. When we question opinions about a certain topic, it can help us either solidify or change a little of what we first believed. There are many types of leadership strategies that can be developed, but it is the confidence and perseverance of a leader than will make it thrive and put into positive action. Also from Heroic Leadership, I learned to surround myself with Jesuit values that will compliment my personal and vocational goals. I must be humble in what I do, respectful of the people I may affect, and grateful for the opportunities I am given. I have learned that it is healthy to take risks that are out of my comfort zone. New and different opportunities may lead me down a path that I want to pursue in life, and it was a result of that risk taken. The Jesuits also embraced change, yet they remained rooted in Jesuit values of self-awareness, ingenuity, love, and heroism. Self-awareness can be linked to ingenuity in the corporate world. If one is seeking a corporate ingenuity through business strategies, it is important to be self aware in three aspects. First, one must know their personal and fundamental values that are nonnegotiable. Also, one should not be bias to a subject with unhealthy attachments and therefore have no room for compromise. A third nugget of wisdom is to have the confidence to seize new ideas, viewpoints, and approaches that can shine light on our world’s most pressing issues.
This fellowship has allowed me to investigate the interests and passions of my deepest self, to then be projected into my actions with others in the world.
As an advocate for greater social benefit, I want to energetically take on challenges with trust and mutual support. If I stick with my core values and social justice issues that really ignite my fire, then truth, joy, and love will continue to stay with me no matter what happens in life.
As a travel bug, I want to keep exploring new places and taking risks that will enhance my education and passion for new life adventures. I crave for new ways of living and engaging in our world, through different cultures and languages, and through new frontiers of natural beauty.