Missed The Application Deadline & Then Got Asked to be Ops Manager
This is My (4-Part) Journey at Halad to Health So Far
Okay… so the title to this blog is a little dramatic, but if I had to sum up my journey at Halad so far, it’d definitely be something about the irony that I actually missed the deadline to apply as a volunteer on the Winter 2019 mission (my bad!), ended up getting a spot, and then was called back to join the Halad team as Operations Manager.
I love being able to tell this story (now with hindsight) because as a student applying for highly competitive positions, we too often feel the pressure to impress and say the right things to try beat out the other hundreds of students vying for the same position.
But now being on the other side, as a part of Halad, boy oh boy was I wrong! I love seeing students, who are interested in volunteering with us, be genuine, confident in themselves and go the extra mile to show their care for the cause.
But before I get into all that…here’s how it all began:
PART 1 (April 2019): SH*T I MISSED THE DEADLINE
DING! Monash Biomed 2017–2020 Group has a new post from Eliza Li.
This whole thing literally started with a Facebook Post!
The post was about a volunteering opportunity in Philippines for students, just like me, studying health degrees. I had always wanted to do something like this, but never found the right opportunity where volunteers could learn AND give back somehow.
This one seemed legit. There was a website, an email address, photos of previous students and didn’t seem too hard to apply. (Only later did I find out the organisation was 3 months old at that point, was run by a few university friends and was only named ‘Halad to Health’ a week before that post!)
But at the time, the organisation passed my legit-test, so with much eagerness, I got tagging right away and started messaging my biomedicine friends. I strictly remember adding the Friday deadline to my reminders as something to remember to do by the end of the week.
But by the time Sunday came around, I realised the due date had already past. Applications closed 2 days ago. Holy crap…
Still determined, I sent Eliza and Wilh an email and apologised for being late at almost every chance I could within the application…And all I could really was hope for the best.
Next thing I knew, there was a reply in my inbox with “Dear Karlene, We understand that these things happen” and I was driving to Monash University, Clayton for my interview. Although dead-set nervous, I was also excited to go in, just try my best and walked out of that interview not knowing how to I faired… Were my answers ‘good-enough’?
A week later, I got a phone call from Eliza, with the unbelievable news that I was chosen to be apart of the Winter 2019 cohort. During that call, I learnt what Halad’s ‘good-enough’ standards were… they chose me becuase I was myself the whole way through and genuinely cared to make a difference for others in anyway possible.
Only during the mission did I find out I had been given 1 of 10 spots amongst 100+ applicants in my round (almost all of which weren’t late)!
Now I’m not saying just submit things late and pray for the best; but till this day, I still wonder what would’ve happened if I let that deadline deter me from submitting my application and I didn’t say: F**k it, just do it.
PART 2 (July 2019): THE WINTER MISSION 2019
Being 1 of the 10 student volunteers on the Winter Mission was an unforgettable experience to say the least.
You can watch the what I did during the 2-week mission here.
PART 3 (October 2019): “WANT TO JOIN THE TEAM?”
After the mission, we all returned to Australia, still high off the spirit to do more for the community we had just taught in Valencia… We all said we would want to stay involved with Halad in any way to give back.
I didn’t expect that a few weeks after, I’d find a literal row of missed calls from Eliza. Halad decided to run 2 missions in Summers and wanted to a few of the alumni back to recruit and make the experience bettter. Heck yeah!
Within a few weeks, I was reviewing new applicants for the upcoming 2020 Summer missions. And really… it was in that moment I realised how incredible this all was. I was able to transform one small push of ‘F**k it, just do it Karlene’ to opening more doors for others to experience such incredible an opportunities.
After reading through all the different resumes, watching the online video submissions and interviewing face to face, each applicant really showed us their incredible skills and strong drive to give back, but it was the harsh reality that we couldn’t take on everyone. Not because of lack of skill or lack of experience; but in reality, lack of positions.
We ended up recruiting an amazing cohort of hard-working and determined students for the two Summer 2020 missions. From planning lectures, to running health fairs and teaching thousands of students… what a crazy two missions it truly was! (Watch here)
(Side Note: Halad to Health is growing ridiculously, stepping into Year 2 of running health education missions, you best believe there will be more opportunities for students to apply to soon.)
But point is, I’ve been there and I get it… nervously sweating answering question after question, and then waiting for the terrifying uncertainty of results. But being able to step into both sides of the process, made me realise that Halad to Health doesn’t look for years of experience…we look for those who just want to give back.
You hear people tell you all the time to just put your hand up for any opportunity that may come your way and eventually it will open up new doors full of experiences. This was no doubt, one of those times door-opening experiences for me.
PART 4 (March 2020): TAKING ON 2020 AS OPERATIONS MANAGER
As we step into 2020, our Halad team has grown twice as big… now with 8 dedicated, passionate Halad Alumni and even a Halad to Health Philippines team wanting to share and give back to those just as deserving as us.
Although we’ve had a choppy start, taking all necessary precautions with the state of the global COVID-19 pandemic, we still have a jam-packed and eventful 2020 year ahead. As of now, we have ceased all international operations to comply with the Health Policies instructed by both the Australian and Philippines Governments.
We are grateful, we are prepared and most importantly, the entire team is in high spirits to grow more opportunities and open more doors this year. BRING IT ON 2020!
Feel free to reach out to us at karlene@haladtohealth.org
Karlene Ta,
Operations Manager, Halad to Health
