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I first became socially aware when I learned more about Israel. I admired Israel for its transformative journey from its foundation in 1948 to becoming a major center for innovation in present times. However, I was also concerned about the many issues surrounding the conflict between Israel and Palestine.

I was given the opportunity to learn more about Israel when I visited the country with my family in 2015. I was exposed to the realities on the ground--specifically about its economic prosperity and the perspective of both Israelis and Palestinians. But what stood out to me during my visit was when I went to the Holocaust Museum, and the Yitzhak Rabin Center.

There, I learned about the history of the Jewish people and the State of Israel. I learned that nationbuilding is a difficult process that requires social cohesion, great leadership, a commitment to peace, and strong institutions that are conducive to holistic development.

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Policy Camp - Formalizing Slum Communities

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Policy Camp - Formalizing Slum Communities

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My friends and I joined a policy case competition about fostering a green recovery in the post-pandemic world. Personally, it was a topic I was very interested in because one of my primary advocacies is centered around climate adaptation and mitigation.

During this event, my friends and I attempted to adopt the sponge city model in formalizing slum communities in Metro Manila. This is because we believed that improving their communities can uplift their lives for the better, in a manner that makes them resilient amidst existing threats like disease and natural disasters.

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I love analyzing data to form relevant conclusions of use to society. Unfortunately, I do not have the sufficient skills to interpret data. So, in my constant search for self-improvement, I decided to enroll on a short data science course taught by Professor Widom from Stanford.

There, I learned many essential skills towards utilizing data to its full potential. The skills I learned here would eventually help me accomplish many challenges, such as my thesis.

Nonetheless, I learned that there were plenty of things I was not knowledgeable about, as this course made me realize that coding is a very challenging rendezvous. Though it is indeed challenging, it made me form a commitment to myself that I would learn new things in an effort to improve the quality of my future works.

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Spearheaded a Brown Bag Session on Philippine Fiscal Policy

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Spearheaded a Brown Bag Session on Philippine Fiscal Policy

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2020 was a challenging year for all of us. Officers of EconOrg were no exception to adapting towards the reality of COVID.

As the Vice President for Research, I was tasked with organizing a Brown Bag Session about relevant issues facing our world. However, this was the very first time that I would organize a fully-online event, and I was scared about the possibility that it may not succeed.

Nonetheless, my team and I persevered. We did a lot of research, and found that Filipino fiscal policy was lackluster compared to our peers worldwide. As such, we decided to host a conference about how fiscal policy can aid in the recovery of our country, and promote a better future in the post-pandemic world, so current and future leaders may learn from this session and push for smart policies when they reach positions of power.

The event was a great success, and pushed me to become more confident in planning and executing events, and pursuing my advocacy towards holistic nation-building.

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Spearheaded the Young Economists'  Policy Initiative

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Spearheaded the Young Economists'  Policy Initiative

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The Young Economists' Policy Initiative (YEPI) was the second online event I'd organize--and undoubtedly the most challenging. It was a policy case competition that aimed to improve the skills and awareness of young policymakers to create pertinent solutions to problems in our time.

In this event, I decided to push for an unconventional question to young policymakers: How do we ensure that emerging technologies in the Fourth Industrial Revolution empower workers instead of serving to their detriment? This question generated a plethora of solutions from young economists around the Philippines.

My team also invited notable leaders policymakers to talk about the state of Industry 4.0 in our country, and how we can maximize the gains from these emerging technologies.

Overall, it was a fulfilling event to both the organizers and the participants. We all got to learn more about the nuances surrounding Industry 4.0, and how the Philippines can move forward towards an equitable path in the ongoing fourth industrial revolution.

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Moderator for a Panel Discussion about Social Justice and Labor

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Moderator for a Panel Discussion about Social Justice and Labor

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One of my dreams in college was to host a panel discussion about relevant issues in our time. For a long time, I have always listened to intriguing debates and discussions on Bloomberg and other news channels, and I wanted to do the same in a similar caliber to whatever Bloomberg's hosts were doing.

I consider moderating this panel discussion to be one of my proudest achievements in college. My team and I invited notable  economists and policymakers in the Philippines and abroad to talk about how we can bridge inequalities in the Filipino labor market, given that the pandemic has revealed deep inequalities existing among different kinds of people in our country.

The panel discussion was a great success, earning the attention of our enthusiastic audience. I also learned a lot from our panelists, who talked about their insights on how the pandemic affected different sectors in the labor market, and what we can do as economists do to alleviate these deep inequalities.