Finding my voice under the new normal

By Bianca Banks

Real talk. I find it easy to feel overwhelmed by the various issues seemingly ever-present in the world, from raging conflicts to data breaches, to environmental degradation and issues of oppression. I know I’m not alone in feeling this, but it sucks. There’s always something to feel morbid over, but the trick in mobilizing yourself and others is to find avenues to use that energy for good. For positive change. 180 Degrees Consulting has provided me with a platform and people through which to feel invigorated to begin to, in small and individual ways, make a positive impact on the organizations around me and in the communities I care for.

I’ve found it uplifting to work with an incredible team of young people, all passionate about various social impact challenges facing Hong Kong. 180DC has been and continues to be a fantastic opportunity for me. I am lucky enough to be a part of the HKU branch although not a HKU student, I am grateful to Ryan, Thomas, and the team for seeing my potential to be a great fit with the branch and for taking me on. I began my 180DC journey on the partnerships team working to build relationships with social enterprises and organizations wanting to improve their social-related work whether through their CSR initiatives, internal business priorities, or in starting a new venture to affect positive change. The team at 180DC HKU is a warm and welcoming community that I am deeply grateful to be a part of. From there, I joined the branch as a consultant and have been challenged in the best ways possible — from teamwork with a personality and culturally-diverse team, to liaising across time zones, to building my repertoire of consulting skills and engaging in development and training sessions. It’s also been wonderful getting to create more of a community of people in Hong Kong, beyond high school and childhood friends. The picture below shows only some of the HKU 180DC group, at our very first orientation, online of course! I’m only two months in, and I couldn’t recommend it more.

Follow our LinkedIn for more updates!