Filipino Hong Konger Jealdrin is dedicated to bridging communities and enhancing job diversity. Through the Fellowship, he hopes to develop a digital resource library with diverse career pathways for non-Chinese speaking students, build a community of individuals and engage with high school students on career education.

While perceiving Hong Kong as his little “Baryo”, which often describes a “neighborhood” in Tagalog, this city has been the place where Jealdrin grew up to reconcile his cultural heritage and upbringing. Despite the challenges faced by many ethnic minority communities, he is aware of his privileges and therefore motivated to push for social justice after hearing from diverse communities about the everyday discrimination they encountered. His vision is that the city learns to value the arts and appreciate all walks of life and their many stories, and that systems would be prompted to change in order to address the needs of Hong Kong’s diverse population.

During his time as a Career Advisor, he witnessed first-hand the inequality in educational opportunities in terms of the exposure and quality of career education between different schools. He had experience in launching career festivals that doubled as a de-stressor for HKDSE students to get their minds off the exams and offer a glimpse of their possible pathways. Education remains Jealdrin’s primary concern as he sees the adverse impact on job diversity from the lack of current career education resources.

Jealdrin joins the Fellowship to network with like-minded individuals in a safe space that allows him to focus on his ideation skills and community work. He also hopes that this digital collection supplements his podcast, The Insight Out, by amplifying the stories of different individuals. Eventually, he aspires to equip high schools with access to Human Libraries to influence and enhance career education for youth in Hong Kong.

Jealdrin is currently working as a Content Specialist for a STEM-based logistics multinational company. He also works as the Marketing Outreach Coordinator for Be/longing HK, an NGO co-founded by 2022 Fellow, Christine, where they challenge diverse communities to reflect on their identities and aspire to connect local and ethnic minority communities to collectively forge a sense of belonging.

In his free time, Jealdrin enjoys sharing stories and spending quality time with others. He also likes to read whilst cafe hopping, singing, watching movies, playing board games, going on walks, waterfall trail hikes, and kayaking.