[b]Evelyn Yeung:[/b] When I think of education, I see hope because education empowers individuals to strive to paint their own futures as well as change the lives of others. I see education as a kind of empowerment for individuals who are less fortunate. Education is a tool that empowers someone with knowledge and teaches that person how to live instead of giving a person the basic essentials (for example, food and water) to live. When someone is empowered with the skills to change their current situations, they are then able to give to those who are not so fortunate. Here, I see education as a way of giving hope to those who are subjected to abject poverty, a means of changing lives.
[b]Megan Foo:[i] What motivates you to volunteer with Givology?[/i][/b]
[b]Evelyn Yeung:[/b] Givology has a very meaningful mission to provide education to individuals who don’t have the necessary resources like a school, supplies and teachers to even achieve an education. For many students in developing countries like Uganda, rural China and Latin America (just to name a few) it is but a dream for a child to even receive the basic supplies to learn to read and write. Givology presents a very powerful message for these students: that there is hope in a brighter future and they are the ones who can change their circumstances. By educating students, Givology empowers individuals with the skills to take charge of their own situations, lives and futures.
Not only does Givology empower individuals by giving them powerful skills to make a difference, it also inspires students, donors and volunteers to connect passion to an action. For students, it is to use what they have learned to fight poverty. For donors, it may be finding their passion for giving. But for many volunteers, myself included, we learn to find something we are passionate about and this passion motivates us to act and lead a project. Each of us has very different talents and volunteering with Givology has made me find my talents and passions in what I enjoy doing and thus leading projects that exemplify it. My greatest motivation in volunteering with Givology is that I am able to put my passion and talents into action whether leading a project or helping others achieve their goals.
[b]Megan Foo: [i]How do you think your work with Givology has furthered your understanding of the state of education worldwide?[/i][/b]
[b]Evelyn Yeung:[/b] My understanding of the state of education worldwide has changed since joining Givology. Although I knew about the lack of education in many developing countries, I never realized how much it impacts children until being part of Givology that directly gives children the education to seek self empowerment. Since being a part of Givology, I understood how important education is for many children who are financially challenged. While I have taken my own education for granted, Givology has opened my eyes to the harsh realities of poverty. It touched my heart to see so many changed lives as a result of the work done by our volunteers and donors. I now see education as a powerful tool that has the power to change many lives.
[b]Megan Foo:[/b] [b][i]Can you tell me about your experience as Givology’s Chief Talent Officer?[/i][/b]
[b]Evelyn Yeung:[/b] I started working with Givology the summer before entering college. In fact, I started off as an intern under Coulter [King] and Liu [Jiang] on the Chapters Team; creating a Chapters Curriculum that presents some universal and consistent components for the structure of every Chapter. As the summer progressed, I found my passion in helping students achieve their education because it touched my heart to see that for so many individuals, their lives revolve around achieving the basic essential to live. But what truly inspired me was the business aspect of Givology, which uses business as a way to make positive change in someone’s life. As CTO I am privileged to meet so many different people that come from various backgrounds nationally and internationally.
[b]Megan Foo: [i]What is the most challenging aspect of being Chief Talent Officer?[/i][/b]
[b]Evelyn Yeung:[/b] The most challenging aspect of being Chief Talent Officer is being able to help individuals find their passion given their interests and skill sets. I believe that it is very important to help interns and volunteers find their “place” in Givology so that they can connect their passion with the projects they work on or even lead their own events.
[b]Megan Foo: [i]What are your focus priorities for the remainder of the year?[/i][/b]
[b]Evelyn Yeung:[/b] My focus priorities for the remainder of the year would be to get help old/past interns back in the loop. I also want to add more structure to Human Resources by having a consistent form of communication with interns such as weekly HR Calls. I hope that our HR calls go beyond the Onboarding Guide or project assignments.