What Harvard Taught Me!
Part 1 — Harvard College Project for International and Asian Relations — Harvard HPAIR 2019
I still remember that hot and humid evening when I was filling out my HPAIR application. There were 6 tracks to the conference — Art, Media and Culture Social Policy and Justice, Governance and Geopolitics, Entrepreneurship and Technology, Energy and Environmental Sustainability and Global Markets and Economy. You could choose three in order of your preference.
Anybody who knows me closely can easily guess what I would have picked. But to a lot of people, I met here and at the conference, my choice was surprising.
‘“Art, Media and Culture?”,
“Did you not get your first choice?”,
“But you just told me that you are a Computer Science Student?”
I just shrugged off their questions. Like a good friend of mine once told me, sometimes you have to take a stand and stick by it.
I have always loved writing and I have stayed true to my passion by writing posts, articles every little chance I got. Which is inherently why I chose this specific track for I wanted to dwell deep into the field of entertainment and see what opportunities existed for people like me.
My internal philosophy is:
You can either be good or bad at writing. Practise and nobody will ever figure it out.
This is the story of what I learnt during the three days of panels and seminars at the conference.
Mathew Jacobson — Founder & CEO, IQ University — Ducere Global Business School
Mat has founded several successful companies based on a core belief in democratising access to world-class education. These companies range from for-profit businesses developing the world’s leading degree programs to philanthropic education focussed on Africa. Mat works together with Presidents, Prime ministers, Nobel Prize Winners and CEO’s to disrupt traditional education that drives meaningful impact spanning over 25 countries.
You don’t necessarily have to come up with revolutionary ideas. Companies like Google and Facebook didn’t introduce the internet. They brought in incremental changes — saw a problem and brought solutions to improve those conditions. Finding the next big idea is not rocket science. As opposed to multinational companies, where rigorous and tedious procedures need to be followed to introduce a new concept, “garage boys” a.k.a startup founders have it pretty easy. Innovation is easy to implement when you have the right settings to foster it.
One and foremost rule of running a successful business: everything must be customer oriented. Period
Mathew helped smash many of the bogus fears doing its rounds in the tech sector these days. He also specifically urged delegates to not fret over headlines. Some of the most important snippets he had covered where as follows:
Claim: AI will destroy most jobs
Reality: Mathew answered exclaiming how 100 years of history before us brought forward the fact that the industrial revolution and advancements in technology have only increased economic opportunities and not depleted them.
Claim: Workers will change careers a dozen times.
Reality: Data and research point towards how workers tend to stick to jobs within their own sector or industry.
To conclude Mathew spoke about how the largest driving factor in today’s world is the need to bid goodbye to strict govt laws and bring about a change in the regulatory environment. And this is how the world is going to change in the upcoming years.
Karen Thornber — Director of the Harvard University Asia Center; Chair of the Harvard Asia Center Council; Harvard Professor of East Asian Languages and Civilizations and of Comparative Literature
Karen Thornber is Professor of East Asian Languages and Civilizations and of Comparative Literature at Harvard University, where she is also Victor and William Fung Director of the Harvard University Asia Center and Chair of the Harvard Asia Center Council. Thornber is author of two multiple international award-winning scholarly monographs — Empire of Texts in Motion: Chinese, Korean, and Taiwanese Transculturations of Japanese Literature (Harvard 2009) and Ecoambiguity: Environmental Crises and East Asian Literatures (Michigan 2012); she has just finished her most recent scholarly monograph, titled Global Healing: Literature, Advocacy, Care. Co-editor of a special issue of Literature and Medicine on World Literature and Health, a special issue of Humanities on Global Indigeneities and Environment which was also published as a separate volume, and a volume on The Poetics of Aging in the Japanese Narrative Arts, Thornber has also published more than six dozen articles on comparative and world literature, East Asian literatures and cultures, the literatures and cultures of the Indian Ocean Rim, diaspora, gender, indigeneities, postcolonialism, transculturation, trauma, and the environmental humanities and medical and health humanities. Current projects include a scholarly monograph on Gender, Leadership, and Asia; a textbook on Asian Feminisms; and a co-edited special issue of the journal World Literature on trans-Asian literature and cultures.
Karen began with an anecdote — openness to new opportunities, persistence, perseverance and stubbornness.
Having lived in various cities across Asia, she developed a strong interest in her field and worked hard to get where she is today. Harvard didn’t invent education and yet it is known for its academic excellence. Similarly, it is all in our hands, what we want to make out of ourselves.
Karen’s life advice:
- Don’t burn out — stay curious, keep your options open and explore. On a side note, she added how she ended up doing something different — no way could she have ever envisioned it.
- Things change and we don’t always end up where we want. But it's good.
- What gives you joy and passion? More often than not, it is not possible to create a career out of it as glamorous stuff have unglamorous sides to it too.
- Regardless of everything, find your way to joy.
- Be kind to others and most importantly to yourself.
- Don’t judge people blindly — they might have many problems of their own — acknowledge them as humans, fully deserving of your time and respect.
- To every naysayer that you face, there will be even more people who will be ready to say yes to you and yes, there is God too.
- When in doubt, take a step back and look at the broader perspective.
- The higher you get, the lesser women you work with. When this happens, develop a thick skin, constantly tell yourself you are worth it and believe that you have something important to give, which is why you have been chosen for the award/position or scholarship.
- Last but not least, help ignite a global perspective.
Andrew Jones — Guardian, Sanctuary Resorts
Andrew Jones grew up in the hotel business as his parents managed Country Inns and Restaurants in the United Kingdom. Over the past 45 years, he has worked in numerous senior management and corporate positions for prestigious hotels, resorts and management companies in London, Bermuda, Canada, Hong Kong and across Asia.
In 1996, Andrew embarked on a new journey. He founded and became the Guardian of Sanctuary Resorts a resort management company creating responsible and sustainable tourism experiences where people their body, mind and spirit in an environmentally friendly space.
As part of his service to Industry, Andrew is a Past Chairman of the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), the Board of Trustees for the PATA Foundation, and Advisor on CSR and Responsible and Sustainable Tourism. Andrew was also a member of the World Travel Market World Responsible Tourism Day Advisory Panel.
Andrew is a Certified Hotel Administrator of the American Hotel and Lodging Association, and a Fellow of the Institute of Hospitality. Andrew believes indirectly contributing to the community in which he lives and is Chairman Emeritus of the KELY (Kid’s Everywhere Like You) Support Group.
Andrew spoke like a true businessman and hospitality expert stressing on his journey to become a multinational resort franchise. He focussed on how people made all the difference. It is important to focus on health and wellness. Helping others, community building, conserving the environment and earning a living sustainably should be given due stature. Finally, he also talked about the four pillars of gross national happiness and played a happy song to boost the spirits in the conference room!
Panel Discussion — Crazy Famous Asians: Asian Representation in Entertainment
Robert Cain — President, Pacific Bridge Pictures
Robert Cain is a Los Angeles based producer and consultant who specializes in Hollywood and international production, distribution, finance and strategy. He has long and extensive experience creating entertainment in the U.S., China, and around the world, and has also served in senior executive and consulting roles at major studios including Viacom, Sony Pictures, MGM, Disney, China Film Group, Shanghai Media Group, China Central Television, and others. Rob has worked in a wide spectrum of entertainment fields including film/TV production, distribution, and finance; digital media; DVD; SVOD; video and mobile games; slate financing; and mergers and acquisitions.
In addition to his corporate activities, Rob also is skilled in international production and has served as a producer and advisor on film and television productions in the U.S., Korea, Japan, Singapore, Russia, India, Dubai, and China.
An East Asian Studies graduate of Harvard College and a Wharton MBA, Rob is widely noted and quoted as one of the foremost experts on China’s entertainment industry and its links with Hollywood. He has made frequent appearances on CNN, MSNBC, CBS News, Fox News, CNBC, NPR, and other broadcast and cable programs.
Rob is an award-winning screenwriter, and as a studio executive in Russia he set up and financed the Academy Award-nominated film “Mongol.” He is currently focused on producing feature films in China and in India.
- Recipe for success in the entertainment industry — get to know people and start networking.
- Overcoming parental and cultural inhibitions is a major task for Asian artists.
What makes movies work across nations? — stories of shared universal values, hard work, plots revolving around family and friends.
- Content creation today is very easing owing to the internet and social media frenzy.
- It is easy to be ethnically open and portray specific storylines.
Michelle Sugihara — Executive Director, CAPE (Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment)
Michelle K. Sugihara is the Executive Director of CAPE (Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment). She is also an entertainment attorney, film producer, and adjunct professor for the Claremont Colleges’ Intercollegiate Department of Asian American Studies. She is on the Executive Committee of Time’s Up AAPI, a founding member of the Asian Pacific American Friends of the Theater, and a member of PBS-Southern California Asian Pacific Islander Community Council. She is also an associate member of Cold Tofu, the nation’s premier Asian American comedy improv and sketch group. Follow CAPE on IG: @cape_usa | Twitter: @capeusa. www.capeusa.org
- Connect the dots looking backwards
- Follow your heart but be pragmatic. Evaluate the cost of pursuing your passion.
- Authentic stories work best always.
No learning is ever wasted.
- Look around you. No person gets anywhere alone.
- Everything starts with you for any industry requires a level of creativity.
LeeJ Razalan — Co-Owner / Manager, Kinjaz, LLC
LeeJ Razalan, co-owner and manager of the Kinjaz, is the Movement In The Shadows. After graduating magna cum laude from Biola University with a major in Business Administration and minor in Biblical Studies, he pivoted his career path to the pursuit of his passion and became commercial industry dancer in Hollywood. His dance career landed him unique opportunities such as the 1st Apple iPod silhouette model, performing live at the Grammy Awards, and starring in numerous national print and commercial advertisements for brands like Coca-Cola, Levi’s, and Target. Dance led to acting school where he would learn the art of storytelling and would then become a theatre actor, get a taste of stand up comedy, and also become a producer. Soon following, he would add talent manager to his repertoire as he served 4 years in between Los Angeles and Las Vegas managing the world-famous dance crew Jabbawockeez and co-producing their live theatre shows. Currently, he is exploring building a whole new Urban Dance ecosystem with the international sensation, Kinjaz and their armoury of entrepreneurial ventures in the US and in Asia. He is honoured to be a guest of Harvard and HPAIR and hopes to provide meaningful and lasting inspiration for those seeking to play the legacy game. #RespectAllFearNone
- In Asian culture, loving is providing, just like how our parents make sure we have all the resources we need to be successful in life.
You can’t fake talent. You either have it or you don’t.
- Sustainability is important in any career. Make your decisions wisely.
- Be so great that the universe helps you find the bridge to your destiny.
- Be excellent at what you do. If you are good, you are good everywhere.
- The barrier is so low and there is so much power to create new media content.
- Asians are blessed with a collaborative gene- help others as you grow.
- Thank God for social media!
Minji Chang — Board of Directors, Kollaboration
Minji Chang is a Korean American actor, writer, producer, podcast host, and community activist. Minji graduated from UC Berkeley with a degree in Public Health and after exploring careers in health and technology, she pivoted to pursue her lifelong passion of acting, filmmaking, & advocacy work with a focus on social justice through the arts. Minji presided as the San Francisco and Global Executive Director of Kollaboration for 9 years. Kollaboration discovers, connects, and elevates Asian Pacific Islander American artists through showcases, community partnerships, leadership development, and digital content to highlight Asian American culture and advance diverse representation in media. Her work with Kollaboration included partnerships with Sundance Film Festival, SXSW, the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, and Rock the Vote as well as HBO, Comcast NBCUniversal, Warner Brothers, Pandora, and Spotify. As an actor, has been featured on numerous viral BuzzFeed sketches in addition to a growing body of short films and national commercials. In 2017, Minji launched her podcast called “First Of All” — a real, unfiltered conversation on family, career, relationships, and modern culture from an Asian American millennial’s perspective. She’s expanded her work to include writing, producing, and directing. She has trained at UC Berkeley, the American University in Paris, Beverly Hills Playhouse San Francisco & Los Angeles, The Actors Green Room, Doug Warhit, and the Upright Citizens Brigade in Hollywood. Her unique and multifaceted background is the foundation for her passion to inspire people through honest and thought-provoking storytelling.
- You have to be brave, to be what you want. The universe does understand.
- People might not like what you have to say
- Diversity is a trend.
Start really small.
- A relationship-based business where the community is strategically put together is the next big thing.
- Comedy is a powerful thing — say anything you want with a spoon of sugar.
- Be a champion for one another.
- We are often scared to show our true colours. Learn to like who you are and find your own way.
This is just the first part. More is yet to come.
I’ll also be writing an article on the whole Harvard College Project for Asian and International Relations experience and application process soon. Stay tuned!
If you like my articles and find them useful, please clap and share to show some love!
