Team Spotlight: Mai
A connector who loves making friends
In this Team Spotlight, we introduce you to Mai, the Content and Marketing Lead at 55 Minutes.
What’s your background? What were you doing prior to joining 55 Minutes?
My work life has been a mix of three Cs — communications, community and content.
Most of my career was in communications and public relations for US media organisations — CNBC, ESPN Star Sports and Disney. I switched to working for non-profits in 2012, first at WWF’s Earth Hour campaign, then to digital storyteller Our Better World, before joining 55 Minutes.
Other Cs that I love about the roles I’ve been fortunate to have been given include connection and collaboration. Altogether, they’re my version of the 5 Cs that make for a meaningful life. :)
What do you love about your job?
I love that I get to shape my role as content and marketing lead. I love that it’s a role that taps on my strengths but challenges me to learn new things. I love that I feel so supported by Wendy who leads the organisation and by every member of our team.
As an individual contributor, I’m also learning to ask for what I need, which hasn’t always been easy for me! It’s good to learn to ask for help — even if it’s not always fun!
I’ve also grown to appreciate how designers think! When we come together on projects, it’s not just efficient and effective, but creative and collaborative.
Before I interviewed for the job, I remember reading about the values of 55 Minutes on the website — curiosity, spirit of excellence with kindness, empathy with others, collaboration, open and authentic communication and joy and fun. That was when I got excited about it! It felt like a place to grow and learn with others. And it is! I’m glad and grateful to be part of the team.
How and when did you end up moving to Singapore?
I got offered a job in Singapore when I was 22 and I’ve been living here since then. I’m 53 now so it’s been a while!
I was working at a PR agency in Manila. It was my first job. My first client was a Singapore-based conference and event organiser. Literally given to me on my first day! I guess I did something right because two years later, the managing director created a job for me in Singapore. My initial reaction was to say no. I was scared to leave my country and go to a place where I had not been to and where I knew no one. But since one of my goals in life is to reduce the number of regrets I have on my deathbed, I said yes, thinking I’d go home after a couple of years. Haha, joke’s on me! But seriously, Singapore is my home away from home now. No regrets on this front!
What drew you to take on this role?
I like that it’s a new individual contributor role that I get to shape. But over and above that, I was drawn to the purpose of the work at 55 Minutes: to enable people to thrive. I wanted to be part of the work and contribute to the mission.
I also appreciate the trust and psychological safety that’s embedded in the culture that Wendy and the team have created and nurtured. That makes total sense. For an organisation focused on helping people thrive, it does the same for its team.
What do you enjoy doing outside of work?
Walking and hiking are my jam! I also love meeting up with friends, singing in the choir, baking and reading. I love dogs so I enjoy dog-sitting for my friends and spending time with our four dogs back in Manila.
I’m not an adrenaline junkie, but I enjoy new experiences. I’ve gone swimming with wild whale sharks and have tried swinging on the trapeze. One thing most people don’t know about me is that I don’t like doing the same thing twice! Once I scale a summit, I move on to other mountains. Even my regular walks are different — I cannot walk the same route twice! Weird but true!
I’m driven by the question “When was the last time you experienced something for the first time?” There’s so much to experience in life!
When I was 20, I saw snow for the first time. It was summer in Switzerland and I was gazing at the snow-capped mountain range of the Jungfrau from the valley. I didn’t trek up. So, I’ve seen snow from afar, but I have yet to touch snow! So I’m definitely looking forward to that first experience.
What is your ideal travel vacation like? Which do you enjoy the most — being in the city, a beach vacation, or spending time with nature?
All three! My perfect vacation would involve exploring a new city, especially a walkable one, then going to its outskirts to swim along its beaches and hike across its mountains. That’s my kind of vacation!
Is there a season of your life you’d like to relive, if at all? Why?
I can’t think of any! I’ve enjoyed many seasons in my life, but none that I would like to relive. I believe we’re the sum of all of our life’s experiences. There’s no place and time but here and now. My goal is to show up and own the presence I bring to the world.
What’s one piece of wisdom you keep having to learn?
I have a favourite poem that describes the person I aspire to be in this world. It sits on my bedside table so I don’t forget. It’s my Note to Self. It’s written by Dawna Markova:
I will not die an unlived life
I will not live in fear of falling or catching fire
I choose to inhabit my days,
To allow my living to open me,
To make me less afraid,
More accessible
To loosen my heart
Until it becomes a wing,
A torch, a promise
I choose to risk my significance;
To live so that which came to me as seed
Goes to the next as blossom
And that which came to me as blossom,
Goes on as fruit
When all is said and done, what would you have done more than you have said?
Be love in action. To not hesitate and talk my way out of helping others. To follow my joy even when I’m fearful and unsure.
It was lovely to get to know Mai and what she does at 55 Minutes. When she’s not working, you’ll find Mai hiking mountains, snorkeling in the ocean or exploring walkable cities. She sings in a choir, bakes for fun and dogsits for friends.
