Eleven (11) CCIP students had a sumptuous dinner yesterday with Ms. Joanna Foo, an agency director of MetLife, a global financial service corporation in the US. Congregating at “Deung Chon Shabu & Noodle,” a highly-rated restaurant, the students had an engaging discussion with Joanna while tucking into Korean delicacies such as Shabu Shabu and spicy hot-pot.

Graduating from The National University of Singapore (NUS), Joanna was a lawyer in Singapore before joining the diplomatic service, where her tour-of-duty was in Malaysia. Joanna then came to the United States for her MBA after a short stint at the United Nations, where she subsequently took up a job in MetLife and built up very strong connections both in NY and Singapore over the years. Hence, FUSIA has invited her to meet its CCIP students so that she can share her wealth of experience on a personal level.

The event kicked off with a brief introduction to the speaker, where Joanna then thanked EK for organizing the dinner as well as the 11 students for making the trip down. She then shared that she was glad we made the decision to do our internship abroad in New York as exposure and experience is very crucial in a person's professional development. Hence, the CCIP was a good chance to expose oneself internationally and will encourage the students to adopt a global mindset before entering their future workplace.

Ms. Joanna then continued by saying that while it is beneficial for students to gain international work experience, students should not maintain the mindset that working in the U.S. is always better. She shared with the participants that US companies are starting to place more emphasis on the Asian markets due to their great potential and hence advised us to gain more working experience first by working in Asian corporations before deciding where you want to build a career on. She also stressed to us the importance of taking risks, which she describes as essential to achieve great results. Warning us that having the constant fear of making mistakes will eventually be counterproductive, she advised us that we should do everything that we feel like doing at this stage of our lives and that it’s only through taking risks that we can achieve exceptional results.

After which, dinner was served. Over a three-course hotpot meal comprising of a variety of meat and vegetables, noodles and finally hotpot rice, Joanna mingled with the CCIP students who were spread about 3 tables. The students were extremely engaged as she shared useful career tips, interesting insights on the working conditions in New York as well as good recommendations on where to visit after office hours. The session ended at about 8pm.

“I had the chance to speak briefly with Ms Joanna during the Kickoff BBQ 2 weeks ago, and I was already intrigued by our short discussion then! I am glad that I was able to attend the dinner as I have been looking forward to it ever since, and it was very beneficial as she gave us great recommendations and advice with regards to living and working in New York,” said Alston Wong Jun Ngai, a student from The National University of Singapore.

“It was great hearing from Joanna about her experience so far in New York. While we might have experienced for ourselves the difference between Asian and American cultures during the internship, it was refreshing to hear from the point of view of an Asian who has been working here for a long period of time. It sets my mind thinking on how I can improve myself into a professional with a global mindset,” said Ng Chun Yee, a student from the City University of Hong Kong.

Special thanks to Ms Joanna Foo for taking time off her busy schedule to converse with the CCIP students and share her valuable insights.