The Trabajo Project
“How might a recent college grad from the US meaningfully contribute to poverty alleviation in the Philippines?”
The Trabajo (“Work”) Project
This is a dialogue on meaningful impact, particularly on creating positive change for those living in poverty in the Philippines. We are not experts in this field of knowledge. We are learners.
Who we are. How we met.
Charles Amaya is a 2012 graduate of Stanford University. Based in San Francisco’s East Bay, Charles majored in chemistry with a minor in computer science. He was active in Stanford’s Pilipino American Student Union (PASU) and first met Julius in 2010 to organize PASU’s 20th anniversary reunion. They continue to share a vision of increased collaboration between PASU alumni and current Stanford students. Since December 2012, Charles and Julius have been working together to transform Charles’ interest in social entrepreneurship and the Philippines into a career with meaningful impact.
Julius Paras is a 1993 graduate of Stanford University. Based in San Francisco’s South Bay, Julius majored in industrial engineering with emphasis in values, technology, science & society. He was co-founder of Stanford’s Pilipino American Student Union (PASU) in January 1990. He is a former corporate IT & change management professional at HP and Agilent Technologies, nonprofit executive director, and university alumni relations officer. Julius is an active community volunteer and Principal of Gumption Studios LLC, a leadership learning consultancy and professional network.
Why this project? What we are trying to accomplish.
- Find Charles a job and help others find jobs in the process.
- Increase awareness and share our learnings through this dialogue.
- Build a community of mutual support and collaboration with the shared goal of substantially alleviating poverty in the Philippines.
Starting now.
filamthropy 
Charles, are you interested in philanthropic work as your paid job? How does the Trabajo Project inform your job search and/or vice versa? Interested in reading about both of your journeys here as well as!
Hi, Rachel. Thanks for the comment! I haven’t considered philanthropic work, mainly because I’ve been interested in social enterprises since coming out of college. But I would love to learn more. What are examples of job positions and duties for someone involved in philanthropic work?
Julius and I initially conceived the Trabajo Project in the early stages of my job search as a way to supplement my search and share our learnings along the way with other interested job seekers.
How my job search informs Trabajo – The content comes straight from my job search, from my own self-discovery and the techniques and resources that are helping me along the way, with the hope that others will find those useful too.
How Trabajo informs my search – Julius and I share the hope that readers will share their learnings and other feedback, exactly as you are doing here. And that will directly inform my search.
It’s as if we’re crowdsourcing my job search, while simultaneously building an open-source guide to finding an impact job for the Philippines.
-Charles A
Hi Charles, I messaged you via LN. I’d love to connect and chat further, I see alignment with what you’re doing. Thanks