傑出校友 慧燈之光！

李學綸Allen Lee   現任／Discovery公司 副總裁  慧燈中學第⼀屆學⽣

今年是我離開台灣的第21年，我仍然記得啟程前往美國的那天早上，和我在慧燈中學的朋友們道別的情景，當我抹去淚水，幾乎無法抑制興奮，知道這將是我做過有史以來最佳決定的開始。但願我可以跟你們說打從抵達美國之初以來，一切都進行得十分順利；但，那不是真的！我在美國的歲月是艱難的、孤單的，但最終是有所斬獲的。站在我現在所在的位置上，身為一家全球媒體集團新晉的副總裁，我認識到在慧燈中學的求學時光早就已經為我在美國的生活做好了準備。

　　在慧燈的日子正是我為後來海外生活準備所需要的鍛鍊。當年紀還小的時候，慧燈教我獨立，也教我建立良好關係的重要性，兩者皆成為建立我在美國生活的重要特質。在慧燈，朋友成為生活上最重要的人，因為我們朝夕相處，甚至比我自己的家人還重要，我還記得和朋友們在雨中打排球，一起去洗澡，一起分享我害怕的鬼故事，我甚至嚇得不敢自己去上廁所。我在慧燈的朋友成為自己在星期一到星期五期間的家人，很難把他們拋下。雖然我們後來各奔前程逐漸疏遠，但是在慧燈的時光讓我變得非常獨立，為我在美國成功的生活及事業奠定了基礎。

　　正如大家所說的，美國是個文化大熔爐，但沒有人告訴你，它並不總是和諧的。除了最初的語言隔閡，我在中學時經歷過種族歧視，對台灣人的團體來說，我感覺就像是個外來者，因為其中每個人都是來自台北的富裕家庭，由於自己到處都無法融入，我很早就做了一個決定：我不想成為特定團體分配的特定角色，我要開創屬於自己的道路。我在大學期間非常努力，並確保在實習時期就開始建立專業的履歷，這不是真的為了金錢，而是渴求經驗的累積。我也知道如果要為自己建立在美國的生活，必須從基礎做起，因為沒有人會免費給我任何東西。在大學的第二年，我開始擔任人權戰線(Human Rights Campaign)的資訊技術(Information Technology, IT)實習生，人權戰線為美國首要倡導LGBT+平權的非營利團體，幾年後，我轉到聯合國基金會(United Nations Foundation)的IT部門擔任全職工作，支援200位員工的技術需求，在這份工作中，我瞭解到與各層級人員溝通的重要性，從組織裡的實習生到執行長，我學會了對每個人的尊重。自己並不是非常喜愛這份工作，但它是條較為容易帶我取得綠卡及公民資格的道路，老實說，那時候我並不是非常確定自己的職業要做什麼，但我專注在如何讓自己待在美國。

　　在聯合國基金會中，我認識了很多超棒的朋友，相處起來很舒服。我在工作上有很傑出的表現，因為自己與大家關係友好，然而，我並未滿足，我知道還有更多需要實現。一直到進入資誠聯合會計師事務所(PwC)，才真正得到進展。資誠聯合會計師事務所是全球專業管理顧問公司，為全球各地的公司、組織、政府機關提供服務，他們的諮詢師依據他們的技能獲派不同的專案計畫及客戶。如果你剛從大學畢業，不知道未來工作方向，這是接觸不同行業的絕佳機會。2015年，我成為他們的初級合夥人之一，加入了旅行顧問的行列。我的第一位客戶Amtrak是美國國家鐵路客運公司，我的職責是協助建立一套工具以便他們的員工能夠獲得火車的即時運作數據，我記得那時與客戶開會時，覺得相當緊張及恐懼，因為當時我代表著世界最大管理顧問公司之一的PwC，並帶領工具的研發。很快地，不確定感及冒名頂替症候群(imposter syndrome)轉而成為驅使我成功的動力，我開始茁壯成長。我知道雖然我不能指望自己成為辦公室內最聰明或知識最淵博的人；但我總可以成為最努力的那一個。所有的熬夜工作及與客戶端的會議，最終獲得回報，一年後，我被拔擢為高級助理。在此感謝慧燈帶給我獨立的同時，我要感謝我的父親造就了我敬業的態度！

　　在Amtrak之後，我被分配到Comcast NBCUniversal公司，原本預計只是６個月的參與，結果卻開啟了一份長達６年任期的合約，開始了我在影視娛樂行業的工作。Comcast NBCUniversal最開始是一間美國的有線電視公司，後來被財富雜誌評為全球50大媒體集團，旗下擁有分布在全球各地的環球影城，業務遍及世界各地。在Comcast工作的機會就像是美夢成真般，在這個世界最大的娛樂公司裡，我參與的團隊要負責由1800萬客戶在3300萬個裝置上使用的娛樂電視系統。我還記得在早期參加會議，學習到身為產品經理，要如何在研發過程中與工程師團隊合作，最終在一夜間創造出影響數以百萬客戶的產品特色。我必須隨時掐自己一下，提醒自己，因為我不想錯過每一刻。雖然這是有著報酬的工作，但也是要求相當高的工作，因為在企業界中，沒有人在意你從哪裡來，英語是否你的母語；他們唯一關心的是你是否準備好來工作及是否有貢獻？我的工作是開發需求，並與工程師團隊合作研究如何將電視系統出售給加拿大的公司。我記得參加概念會議時，我必須和很多同仁分享我的工作成果，並讓他們對我的工作提出評論及問題。這些會議是眾所皆知的困難，因為大家會對你的想法提出批評，絕不會手下留情。為了在美國大企業得到成功，你必須厚著臉皮，度過一道道的難關。我知道有些人在開完這些嚴苛的會議後會哭出來。幸運的是，我從不是其中的一個，但有幾次亦有泫然欲泣之感。

　　在Comcast努力工作有所回報，我成了全職員工，擔任產品經理主管。我的新的工作職掌包括將電視系統帶入商業空間，例如旅館和企業地點。我們的關鍵合作夥伴之一就是四季酒店，四季酒店是全世界最豪華連鎖旅館之一，他們將會在費城蓋一間新的旅館。那真的是我職涯上一個里程碑式的專案項目，因為我必須與Comcast集團的CEO見面，並跟公司許多高層行政主管保持密切關係。我帶領這個專案計畫兩年的時間，成功地發表與四季酒店合作的X1 Hospitality產品，並成為旗艦項目，那是一段艱辛的旅程，我每天工作12小時，持續好幾個月，但做著我真心喜愛的工作，一點都不覺得那是份工作。

　　就當我在Comcast的工作中持續成長時，我的工作職掌範圍也持續擴大。在我十年職涯這個當下，我正帶領著９位產品經理的工作小組，管理有著1800萬個客戶的全球產品，在我的領域中，我被認為是位專家，我必須為公司制定戰略。最近，我接受了擔任Discovery公司副總裁的職位，該公司是另一個全球媒體集團，旗下有著名的Discovery頻道，動物星球頻道及其他娛樂網絡。回想起來，我非常感激在慧燈的成長經驗，感謝父母給我的恩典！如果你正在讀這篇文章，在慧燈的經驗能為你將來的成功奠定基礎，而其他的則取決於你。

2022/03/31  寫於美國費城

        This year marked 21 years since I left Taiwan. I still remember saying goodbye to my friends at Huey Deng the morning of my trip to the United States.  As I wiped away my tears, I could barely contain my excitement, knowing that it was only the start of what had to be the best decision ever.  I wish I could tell you that everything had been smooth sailing for me from the beginning but that would have been a lie.  My years in the United States were difficult, lonely but ultimately rewarding.  Standing where I am now, a newly minted Vice President at a global media conglomerate, I recognized that my time at Huey Deng had prepared me for my life in the United States.

        Life at Huey Deng was exactly what I needed to prepare for a future overseas.  At a young age, Huey Deng taught me to be independent; it also taught me the importance of relationship building.  Both of which became extremely important traits for me to build my life in the United States.  At Huey Deng, my friends became the most important thing to me because we spent every day together, even more so than my own family.  I remember playing volleyball in the rain with my friends, going to the bathroom together as a group and sharing ghost stories that would scare me so much, I wouldn’t go to the bathroom by myself.  My Huey Deng friends became my family during the week, and it was very difficult leaving them behind.  While we have drifted apart since, my time at Huey Deng made me fiercely independent, which set me up for a successful life and career in the United States.

        As they say, the United States is a melting pot where different cultures come together, but no one tells you that it isn’t always harmonious.  Aside from the initial language barrier, I experienced discrimination in high school, feeling like an outsider to the Taiwanese community, where everyone came from rich families in Taipei, since I wasn’t fitting in anywhere, I made the decision early on that I wasn’t going to be type-casted for a certain group and that I was going to chart my own path.  I worked hard throughout college and made sure that I started building a professional resume with internships.  While it wasn’t really about the money, I was hungry for experience.  I also knew that if I was going to build a life for myself in the United States, I had to start from the ground up because no one was going to hand anything to me for free.  In my sophomore year in college, I started as an Information Technology intern for the Human Rights Campaign, which is the premier non-for-profit organization for LGBT+ rights and advocacy.  I then moved on to the United Nations Foundation a few years later as a full-time employee in the IT department, supporting 200 employees with their technology needs.  It was at that job I learned the importance of communication with people of all levels.  From the CEO to the interns of the organization, I have learned to treat everyone with respect.  I wasn’t passionate about the job, but it was easy, and it presented a path to green card and citizenship. In all honesty, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do for my career, but I was laser-focused on staying in the United States for myself .

        I met a lot of wonderful friends at the United Nations Foundation, and it was comfortable.  I was great at my job because I was great with people.  However, I was not fulfilled, and I knew there was more out there. It wasn’t until I moved to PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) that I truly found my stride.  PwC is a global professional consulting firm that caters to corporations, organizations, and governments around the world.  Their consultants get assigned to different projects and clients based on their skillsets and it is a wonderful way to get exposed to different industries if you are fresh out of college and not sure what to do with your life.  In 2015, I became one of their junior associates and joined the ranks of traveling consultants.  My first client was Amtrak, which is the national railroad company for the United States and my job was to help build a tool that allows their employees to get real-time operating data for their trains.  I remember feeling so nervous and intimidated attending meetings with my client where I was supposed to represent PwC, one of the world’s biggest consulting firms, and I was supposed be leading the development of the tool.  Quickly, the uncertainty and imposter syndrome turned into my drive to succeed, and I began to thrive.  I knew that while I couldn’t count on being the smartest person or the most knowledgeable person in the room, I could always be the hardest working.  All the late nights and client meetings eventually paid off and I was promoted to Senior Associate after 1 year.  While I have Huey Deng to thank for my independence, I have my father to thank for my work ethics.

        After Amtrak, I was assigned to Comcast NBCUniversal on what was supposed to be a 6-month engagement, it ended up kicking off a 6-year tenure and cemented my position in the video entertainment industry.  Comcast NBCUniversal started out as an American cable company that became a Fortune 50 global media conglomerate that owns Universal Studios with operations all over the world.  The opportunity at Comcast was a dream come true because I joined the team that was responsible for an entertainment TV system used by 18 million customers on 33 million devices at one of the biggest entertainment companies in the world.  I remembered attending meetings early on and learning about how as product managers, we collaborate with engineering teams in the development process and eventually create features that can impact millions of customers overnight.  I had to pinch myself because I loved every second of it.  Although as rewarding as the job was, it was also very demanding because in the corporate world, no one cares where you come from or if you spoke English as a second language, the only thing that matters is whether you come to work prepared and are ready to contribute.  My job was to develop requirements and work with engineering teams to figure out how to syndicate the TV system to Canadian operators.  I remember going to ideation meetings, where I had to share my work with dozens of other people and for them to comment on my work and ask questions.  These meetings were notoriously difficult because people would criticize your ideas and they weren’t known to hold their punches.  To succeed in corporate America, you must develop thick skins and know to roll with the punches.  I know people who would cry after those brutal meetings.  Luckily, I was never one of them, but I have come close to be a few times.

        Working hard paid off for me at Comcast, where I became a full-time employee as the Director of Product Management. My new scope included taking the TV system into commercial spaces, such as hotels and enterprise venues. One of the key partners would be the Four Seasons hotel. The Four Seasons hotel is one of the world’s most luxurious hotels chains and they would be building a new hotel in my home of Philadelphia. It was truly a landmark project in my career because I got to meet the CEO of Comcast corporation and built close relationships with many of the top company executives. I led the project for 2 years and successfully launched the X1 Hospitality product with the Four Seasons hotel as our flagship project. It was a difficult journey where I would work 12 hours a day every day for months, but I got to do something I truly loved and it didn’t feel like work.

        As I continued to grow in my career at Comcast, so did my scope.  At this point in my 10-year career, I was leading a team of 9 product managers, and I managed a global product for 18 million customers.  I am regarded as an expert in my field, and I got to develop strategies for the company.  Most recently, I had accepted a position as a Vice President for Discovery Inc.  which is yet another global media conglomerate behind the famous Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, and other entertainment networks.  Thinking back, I am grateful for my upbringing at Huey Deng and I have my parents to thank for my privileges.  If you are reading this article, know that you are also privileged and that your experience at Huey Deng will set you up for success, the rest. However, is up to you.