It all began with a winter course seminar, where I met the co-founder of Big Bang Academy, Sarah Tong, who was the guest speaker of the course. Her sharing about the future of education has intrigued me, so I decided to contact her for a working opportunity.

After the first peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, my exchange application was canceled, and the zoom learning seemed never-ending. So I decided to take a gap year as a buffer and devote myself to working alongside an early-stage startup.

Big Bang Academy is an EdTech startup focusing on children’s STEM education. Quality Education, one of the SDGs, is always my top priority in considering my career path. Too many great teachers have influenced my learning journey. With these role models, I have always wanted to contribute to our education sector.

Although Global Business didn’t teach me how to become a good teacher, it teaches me a lot about critical thinking and communication. I can apply all those skills in organizing educational activities with the government, business, and school partners. GBUS also prepare me with an adaptive mentality which is essential in a startup environment. Everything changes so quickly; in a way, I must be agile enough to go with the changes and grab every opportunity when they come by.

While the key takeaway is that “the more you give, the more you get”. I used to get frustrated with many roles in a startup that comes with many responsibilities. But then I realized only with such a flexible work environment can I keep learning new things day-to-day and showcase my ability and talent via my work. It all depends on how we look at our responsibilities; it can be a burden but also our fuel to grow.

We often fear being taken advantage of and therefore refuse to take up more responsibility. With a year of startup life, I have learned not to be afraid of all the extra work. More responsibility also creates more opportunities for us to prove ourselves, which we should neither avoid nor take for granted.