5 Questions with WYAAP’s newest Director

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Have you met Joyce? 

Joyce Cedeño is the new WYA Asia Pacific (WYAAP) Regional Director of Operations (RDO). Born and raised in Manila, Philippines where the WYAAP headquarters is located, she first encountered WYA in 2014. A year after, she joined the regional internship where a lot of her best WYA stories took place.

“I really appreciate WYA because the organization doesn’t only train young people about project management and public speaking; WYA teaches and instills in people that they we worth and I want others to know that too.”

1. What were you busy with prior to your role now as RDO?

“I used to work for an international non-government organization (INGO) and a grant aid agency, whose aim is to improve communities in the Philippines. In the INGO, I directly worked with the Country Director at the operations level in ensuring proper management of projects including proposals and reports and coordination with other stakeholders. I also worked for an international grant-aid agency in charge of monitoring and evaluating the volunteer section. Although I didn’t work at the field level with the beneficiaries, the experiences were still enjoyable and fulfilling.”

2. What drew you to get involved with WYA?

“When I decided to get involved with WYA in 2014, I just graduated from college and I didn’t know exactly what I wanted to do. But knew that I wanted to improve and gain more skills and knowledge before I started working and I felt WYA could help me with that. Some of my friends who joined WYA also had so many good experiences so that also became another reason!”

3. What projects did you handle when you were a WYA intern in 2014?

“I organized events such as the Coffee House Session “A Night of Rhymes” and the 3rd Emerging Leaders Conference. I also represented and introduced WYA to different universities and colleges in the Philippines and in Indonesia during one of the Regional Director (RD) Tours when Lord Leomer Pomperada [current WYA President], was still the RD for Asia Pacific.”

 

4. Any involvements after that?

“I continued to volunteer for WYA and actually became a lead facilitator in the 2015 WYAAP Summer Camp where I handled Team Freedom (Go team!)”

5. What would we catch you doing in your free time?

“I enjoy exploring places and meeting new people because it makes me feel more connected to the world whenever I immerse myself in different cultures. But other than the obvious, I also enjoy trying different water activities and having deep talks over good food with friends. I’m also currently figuring out  “Bullet Journaling.”

Part of her vision for the region is to continue building a youth community whose mission is centered on promoting the dignity of the human person. On a more technical note, she hopes to encourage more people to undergo the WYA Certified Training Program as she sees this as a great opportunity for the youth to understand their worth despite challenges that threaten their dignity.

Joyce adds, “I really want to give young people an amazing and memorable [WYA] experience.”

 

WYA welcomes you aboard, Joyce!

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