30 VOLUNTEERS THAT BURN BRIGHT
Volunteer
While sparking a change in others, Halogen’s volunteers experience the change themselves. Hear these stories from Halogen’s change-makers By Faith Jinghui Luo
Diana Jean Reyes has been most
active in Halogen’s training scene. She is now a facilitator and coach at Positive Keystone.
When I first heard Martin Tan close his talk at an international youth conference in 2007 with: “Someday someone in this planet will do something that will change the world. Why not you?” I was hooked! Seeing the spark of inspiration in the eyes of all those young people that day which seemed to shout in silence: “Yes, I am a leader and I can make a difference!” equally inspired me. Throughout the years, that same spark in students’ eyes made working late into the night preparing for events and classes, and then waking up bright and early the following morning to work and teach, all worthwhile. Now as a career coach and corporate facilitator, I continue to find joy in helping others see the leader in themselves, leaders who can make a difference in their families, their teams, their companies and their communities in their own way.
Caleb Wong comes from a family of teachers; that could be why his friends at Halogen half-jokingly say that “teaching is in his blood”. But really, he truly is an impactful trainer. I used to believe it was idealistic to think that every single youth has the potential to make a significant difference in life. Each time I volunteered as a trainer, I felt that a particular training was a success if I left the classroom with at least one youth impacted and wanting to change. I had low expectations: one youth was enough. One day during a debrief session, a staff shared that every youth can learn something from every session in their own special way, and we should strive to impact every student when we enter the classroom. That experience left a deep impression on me, radically changing my paradigm; Halogen taught me to believe in every youth.