Christelle's Blog

Explain a situation where you have had an ethical decision to make. Discuss how you weighed up the values involved in that decision, the decision you made, and the consequences of your action.

In December 2021, Effective Altruism NZ ran a fundraiser for the Against Malaria Foundation, one of the charities evaluated as most effective. Essentially, you would double or have your donation matched if you contributed to this fundraiser. The limit to how much would be matched was over $56,000. When you see that every extra dollar you spend on yourself could benefit others' lives many many many more times that your own, even save others' lives, every financial decision could be an ethical decision. Should you get that new pair of jeans or donate to a charity that protects families from malaria for a dollar or two a year? I ended up donating $325 to this fundraiser. I weighed this up between my values of effectiveness and contribution on one hand, and personal financial security and ease on the other. It ended up being an easier decision given it was Christmas time and I used my donations as parts of gifts. I presented the donations through cards, writing the cost (around $1.78 per person for 2-3 years) to protect families from malaria through the Against Malaria Foundation. In these cards I also expressed my gratitude and well-wishes for them. So by using this opportunity to express gratitude, to celebrate and to inform others about something very important to me, it was an easy ethical decision to make. The consequence of this decision was 91 bed nets donated to protecting around 182 people from malaria for the next 2-3 years. That's $0.89 per person per year.

Describe how your culture has influenced your values and identity.

I was born in Philippines and came to New Zealand 4 days before I turned 9. I was raised in a Catholic, Filipino family. Both my parents grew up in poor families, so it has always been the norm for them to help their families, especially once they came to New Zealand and had more financial capacity to do so. It's normal for Filipinos to work overseas and send money back to family in the Philippines. My parents' example has definitely influenced my value for altruism. Growing up, I wasn't very big on hard work, but now I also take inspiration from my parents' hardwork and organisation. Being raised in my family has probably also contributed to my values for family, education, stability, and loyalty.

Growing up in New Zealand for the last 14 years, I think the part that has influenced me the most is the easy access to the internet and information in general, especially from libraries. Living in the modern age, in a first world country, I was able to explore what was most interesting and now meaningful to me. I was able to learn from others how best to live. I've been influenced by Stephen R. Covey, and his son Stephen M. R. Covey, Greg McKeown, Cal Newport, Marshall Rosenberg, Thich Nhat Hanh, the Effective Altruism movement... in sum, ideas about effectiveness in life and work, nonviolence, and mindfulness. I highly value wisdom, growth, effectiveness, contribution, and compassion. I think these ideas, values, and my intent to take care of myself, my family and the world speak more to my identity than do the cultures in Philippines and New Zealand.

Evaluate your strengths and limitations in terms of your learning and career development

My Strengths

• Love of learning and growth. This strength will help me enjoy the intense learning and growth induced by the EDA course, and to enjoy the continuous learning while working in web development.

  Evidence:

  • #1 Strength from VIA.org: Love of Learning.
  • #3 Strength from high5test.com: Philomath (Your objective is to learn new things.)
  • #4 Strength from high5test.com: Coach (Your goal is to develop people's potential.)
  • Enthusiastic reader of self development material.
  • Enrolment in the Optimize Coach program.
  
  
• Empathy. Relating with others empathically will be useful for collaborations.

  Evidence:

  • #1 Strength from high5test.com: Empathiser.
  • Strength identified by boyfriend: "emotional capacity."
  • Attending Nonviolent Communication Workshops with Meditating Giraffe.
  • Owning multiple books on nonviolent communication.
  • Listening to the Nonviolent Communication audiobook a dozen times.


• Teamwork.

  Evidence:

  • #5 Strength from VIA.org: Teamwork.
  • Excelled in team sports, most notably in cheerleading which I did for 5 years.


• Wisdom and Deep Thinking.

  Evidence:

  • #5 Strength from high5test.com: Thinker (Your goal is to think.)
  • Studied Psychology and Philosophy.
  • Strength identified by boyfriend: "methodical thinker."


• Valuing integrity. I highly value trust, doing the right things and doing things properly. Being trustworthy is something I want to systematically develop with the help of the book "The Speed of Trust." This is something I am yet to confidently label as a strength, but I think valuing it in my own actions is a strength in itself.

  Evidence:

  • #2 Strength from VIA.org: Honesty.
  • #2 Strength from high5test.com: Believer (Your objective is to believe and to do ‘the right thing’.)

My Limitations

• Health and energy levels. I'm not where I want to be in my consistency and track record with healthy habits. I'm also not as energetic as I'd like.


• Organisation/Efficiency/Productivity. I'm not particularly organised, efficient nor highly productive. This may be linked with my low energy levels, as I often don't do as much as I would like in a day because I feel tired.


• Low determination. I'm not as determined as I'd like. I want to feel satisfied with how aligned I'm living with my values. I want to have a strong sense of resolve, a sense of strength and firmness in my goals and values.


• Low on hard work. I want to put more effort and energy in whatever I do. This probably relates to my limitation of having low energy. I want to be able to say with 100% confidence that I'm a hard worker with great work ethic.


• I have a bottom-less cup for time with loved ones. I imagine one of the things that will be most painful for me during the EDA bootcamp is the minimal time to spend with loved ones.

Identify which of your strengths might help you in your learning journey and how they intersect with learning obstacles.

I think my strengths for love of learning and growth, and for wisdom and deep thinking will help with my energy levels, which seem to be my primary limitation. I can use what I know about health and energy levels, and create a wise plan to boost my energy levels.

Share an example from your experience of where you were trying to work productively with others, but there was resistance or tension. Discuss the strategies you used at that time, how effective they were, and your reflections on what other strategies you would try now and why.

In Year 10, I took a class on Business Studies. All Year 10 Business Studies students get the privilege of selling products and services in a group with other students at a school 'Market Day'. My team ended up selling bows. In the end, we sold out and made a profit, but I wasn't proud of the process. My group mates couldn't make the bows as well as I'd like, so I ended up making dozens and dozens of bows by myself and with my mum's help. Now, I would try establishing mutual understanding of the group's aim and standards. It wasn't fun working in that group, and I didn't help at all. Now, I would like to help make group work a fun, safeg and synergistic experience while still delivering results.