Meet the New JA Asia Pacific Alumni Leaders
May 30, 2023
Meet the ten newly appointed JA Asia Pacific alumni leaders! These eleven alumni will attend the second edition of the Alumni Leaders Academy in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, from July 13–15, and then go on to lead the JA alumni network in their countries through July 2024.
The JA Alumni Leaders Academy is a three-day intensive boot camp aimed at developing and growing JA alumni networks in the Asia Pacific region. One alumnus from each country was selected to participate in the academy with the goal of creating a sustainable strategy for their local alumni chapter.
The program is designed to provide each participant with the necessary skills and knowledge to become an effective leader in their respective alumni networks. At the end of the academy, each participant will walk away with a strategy for alumni engagement in their country and lead their alumni network for a minimum of one year.
Meet the JA Asia Pacific Alumni Leaders
Azerbaijan: AytanPashayeva
“My journey with JA began in 2013 as an intern. I had previously been a participant in JA Azerbaijan's (JAA) summer internship program, which helped me gain a better understanding of the organization's mission and values. As an intern, I learned valuable skills and gained practical experience that helped me grow personally and professionally. In 2014, when JAA was going through a tough period, I volunteered at the organization again. As a volunteer, I primarily worked with youth in various initiatives and maintained constant communication with them. This experience inspired me to pursue a career in youth development and education. After six months of volunteering, I served as a project assistant, providing support to the project director in the successful execution of JAA projects that focused on career planning, financial literacy, and entrepreneurship. Additionally, I remained involved in direct work with young people during this time. Thanks to my previous involvement with JAA, I had already developed relationships with many JAA Alumni. As project coordinator at JA Azerbaijan, I assumed responsibility for the overall management of our projects. This included coordinating project activities, ensuring the timely delivery of planned outputs in accordance with project plans, and adapting JA's global programs to suit local content. Throughout my tenure, I specialized in the financial literacy direction and leveraged my expertise to develop a range of resources for secondary school students. This included the creation of a JAA My Budget student handbook, as well as various video lessons.”
Connect with Aytan on Gather.
China: Xiaojie WU
“The JA Company of the Year program was my first encounter with junior achievement. I joined the program from 2019 until 2021, when our student company represented Indonesia in the Asia Pacific Company of the Year Competition. In the same year as the Company of the Year, my friend and I won third place International Trade Challenge Indonesia Finals. It was also the same year I first had my experience with JA Alumni community as a gather reporter. My JA alumni journey continues as I get involved in JA Asia Pacific alumni committee. After the first year of volunteering as the head of events, projects, and opportunities, I decided to continue the journey as the vice president of JA AP Alumni for the second fiscal year. In August 2022, I joined the JA Alumni Europe conference in Strasbourg and I began to realize how important the local alumni chapters are. I believe that the JA alumni community works like a pyramid where each local alumni community acts as the base of everything. I spoke to the co-founder of Prestasi Junior Indonesia, Mr. Robert Gardiner, and asked if I could restart the JA Indonesia alumni. He approved my proposal, and now it has been a year since I became the president. Together with two of my friends, we rebuilt our social media channels and did a survey on the alumni. I believe Indonesia holds so much potential, and there are still a lot of things that the committee can work on together.”
Connect with Xiaojie on LinkedIn and Gather.
Guam: Angel Payumo
“I participated in JA Guam’s 2022–2023 JA Company Program as part of a group of high school students who established a small company with the purpose of creating a culturally relevant and sustainable product. The program gave me a well-rounded experience that allowed me to develop skills in leadership, teamwork, communication, and management.”
Connect with Angel on Gather.
Hong Kong SAR–China: Matthew Hui
“I have been involved in JA Hong Kong for over four years, including two years of participation in the JA Company Program, and I actively participate and volunteer in other JA activities afterward.
For my two years journey in the JA Company Program, I performed as the IT Manager of Envirozon in the first year and the CEO of Confiar in the second year, led the company to win the Hong Kong JA Company of the Year – first runner-up for two years in a row, also representing Hong Kong to participate in the Asia Pacific Company of the Year competition. But besides the awards, I have directed my JA company to become one that can genuinely contribute to society.
After the JA Company Program, as a JA Alumni, I continue to participate in different JA events, such as the JA job shadowing program with AT&T and Accenture. I also volunteered as the English emcee for the JA Hong Kong Youth Innovation Pop-up this year, communicating with sponsors and JA Company Program students to support them in their entrepreneurial journies.”
Connect with Matthew on LinkedIn and Gather.
Indonesia: Stevia Putri
“The JA Company Program was my first encounter with JA. I participated in the program from 2019–2021. In addition to the Company of the Year competition, my friend and I won third place in the International Trade Challenge Indonesia Finals. That was also the first year I participated in the JA Alumni community as a Gather Reporter. My JA alumni journey continues as I get involved in the greater JA Asia Pacific alumni committee. After the first year of volunteering as the head of events, projects, and opportunities, I decided to continue the journey as the vice president of JA Asia Pacific Alumni for the second year. In August 2022, I joined the JA Alumni Europe conference in Strasbourg, and I began to realize how important the local alumni chapters are. I believe that the JA alumni community works like a pyramid where each local alumni community acts as the base of everything. I spoke to the co-founder of Prestasi Junior Indonesia, Mr. Robert Gardiner, and asked if I could restart the JA Indonesia alumni network. He approved my proposal, and I have served as president for the last year. I’ve worked with two friends to rebuild our social media channels and conducted a survey on the alumni. I believe Indonesia holds so much potential, and there are still a lot of things that the committee can work on together.”
Connect with Stevia on LinkedIn and Gather.
Japan: Mone Hamada
“Two years ago, as an 11th-grade student, I led a team and presented a plan that tackled social issues of the Japanese fishing industry for the Social Innovation Relay 2021-22; our team got 2nd place in Japan. Then, in order to promote this epic opportunity, I shared my SIR experience by giving presentations at school information sessions and entrepreneurship lectures in the city for elementary, junior, and high school students.
At the same time as finishing my college application, I took on the role of an alumni leader of JA Japan in April and started to focus on conducting an Alumni Gathering to enhance connections between JA Japan Alumni.
Furthermore, by leveraging my skills as a designer and video creator, I will shoot videos of Social Innovation Relay, International Trade Challenge, and TTBiz; I will turn these into promotion videos. Therefore, I will dedicate myself not only to strengthening the alumni network but to attracting new alumni.
One of Junior Achievement’s programs has influenced my academic career notably, hence I am trying to pay it forward by giving various presentations, becoming an Alumni Leader, and conducting various strategies. Even now, this is just the beginning, I am going to proceed with these projects since I know a JA experience has the potential to change participants’ lives.”
Connect with Mone on LinkedIn and Gather.
Korea: Matthew (Kang Seok) Oh
“My first interaction with JA was when I participated in the Company of the Year program in 2012 as a high school junior. I've partnered up with my friends from different high schools and started a business that involved creating design goods with the help of student art clubs in high schools. Luckily, we were given the opportunity to represent Korea in the Asia Pacific competition held in Malaysia that year. After I went to college, I continued on my relationship with JA Korea as a part-time volunteer for various programs, and also participated in volunteering events held by JA Hong Kong when I started working in Hong Kong after college. Now, I'm working as a full time staff in JA Korea for 4 months during my gap time in between my job move.”
Connect with Matthew on LinkedIn and Gather.
Malaysia: Shie Xian Poi (President)
“My involvement with JA started in 2018, when I won the FedEx/JA ITC National Finals and represented Malaysia in the Asia Pacific Finals. And I’ve been engaging with JA on-and-off ever since, which makes this year my sixth year of engagement.
At the end of 2018, my partner and I had a one-month internship at JA Malaysia. My tasks mostly included improving materials used in JA programs, such as embellishing the YE workbook, and creating new ITC teaching slides based on our learning experience at the Asia Pacific Finals. Before I ended my internship, I formulated the first action plan of the JA Malaysia Alumni program.
Early 2020, my partner and I had our second internship at JA Malaysia. Our main tasks were to initiate the JA Malaysia Alumni Program in conjunction with the launch of Gather Alumni, and to create an e-commerce platform for the YE program, which eventually developed into JAM Mall. I was also elected as treasurer of the JA Malaysia Alumni Pro Tem Committee. I revised my action plan from 2018 and proposed it to the newly formed alumni committee. However, due to COVID-19 lockdowns, the plan was ultimately held off.
Beside my main tasks, I was also actively involved in JA Malaysia’s other programs, such as conducting workshops for YE and Cha-Ching Curriculum, mentoring YE students etc. Concurrently, I was also given the opportunity to intern at MACROKIOSK, JA’s sponsor, where I conducted preliminary market research for the company’s upcoming product – BOLD.Pay.
In 2021, due to worsening pandemic situations in Malaysia, the YE program was forced to be conducted online, where students needed to sell their products through JAM Mall instead of the conventional sales fair. Due to my involvement in JAM Mall’s development, I was employed as a JA Officer to assist in the YE program, specifically regarding the e-commerce platform. My main responsibilities are to lead other JA interns in educating students on the features of the website, solving technical complications etc.”
Connect with Poi on LinkedIn and Gather.
Malaysia: Kaeyshia L Kesh (Vice President)
“I participated in the Young Enterprise program back in 2019 and 2020. In 2020, I was elected as the Managing Director of my school company. I have also participated in their Job shadow program to build my resume before I applied for scholarships and colleges. Once I became an alumnus, I was excited to join the community and network with others. I intended to learn and experience things from the committee side of things instead of being a participant. Hence, I applied to be part of the JA Malaysia Alumni Committee member in 2022 where I was appointed Engagement and Enrolment Lead. I wish that I could give back more to this community therefore, I am applying to be an alumni leader this year!”
Connect with Kaeyshia on LinkedIn and Gather.
Philippines: Raine Nakpil
“From 2020-2021, when I was 15 years old, I was invited to join the Junior Achievement Philippines /FedEx Express International Trade Challenge. I was the second runner-up in the 2021 JA/FedEx International Trade Challenge Asia Pacific finals alongside my partner, JJ, from Thailand. From then on, I continued working with Junior Achievement Philippines by becoming a student ambassador and mentor for various competitions. I was also given the honor of becoming a JA Asia Pacific Alumni Champion, representing the Philippines alongside other alumni. In 2022, I became a member of the JA Asia Pacific Company of the Year alumni sub-committee, working with talented representatives from Brunei, Indonesia, and Malaysia.
I am incredibly passionate about JA’s mission to educate and provide opportunity, and have been interning as a part-timer for Junior Achievement Philippines since January 2022. I have been able to help organise events such as the EDGE career summit, JA alumni homecoming, and work in person behind the scenes of the JA/FedEx ITC, hosted by my home country, the Philippines in 2022! I have also been working closely with the JA Philippines team to strengthen our alumni network post-competition, being an active advocate to utilise JA Gather as much as possible!
I have also mentored and judged several local and international Junior Achievement competitions, including but not limited to: JA/FedEx ITC, JA company of the year, Cha-Ching/Pru-Life Cashcapades, JA Business Skills Pass, JA Registered Marketing Professional, JA Entrepreneurial Skills Pass.”
Connect with Raine on Gather.
Turkmenistan: Isgender Kerimow
“I have been involved with JA and the JA alumni community in Turkmenistan for over 10 years. I started as a participant in JA programs, then became a volunteer for a long time and helped organize trainings. After completing my studies, I became a member of the jury, and after receiving certification as a soft skills trainer, I became an active practicing trainer for JA Turkmenistan, as well as the leader of JA program alumni. I also attended the 100th-anniversary gala in Austria, JA Worldwide 100.
Over the years, I have participated in various JA educational programs as a student to gain entrepreneurial and business skills and volunteered my time for several years to help organize and run soft skills training for youth. I became certified as an official JA soft skills trainer and have facilitated multiple trainings to develop leadership and entrepreneurial skills in students. I also served as a judge for various JA competitions and events to help evaluate and provide feedback for students.
I am passionate about JA’s mission to inspire and prepare young people to succeed in a global economy. My involvement with JA over the years has been highly rewarding, and I look forward to many more years of supporting the organization and local youth.”
Connect with Isgender on LinkedIn and Gather.
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