Wave Team Spotlight: Q&A with Doris Chang
By Christina Yao, Press & Written Media Team
Welcome to the weekly Wave team spotlight! This series is meant to highlight some of our teammates that have been doing awesome work.
This week, meet Doris Chang, a member of the West Outreach team! We hope you enjoy this following Q&A and learn more about who she is, both in and out of Wave!
Editor’s Note: This interview was conducted Oct. 2020. Doris is now the USA West Outreach Lead of Wave’s Growth Team.
What do you do at Wave? Give an overview of your usual tasks and activities.
I am part of the West Outreach team (West Team best team)! My focus is in the Los Angeles area, and I am the first point of contact for emails, sourcing different organizations, and focusing on low-income and under-resourced communities which includes nonprofits, school and university organizations, religious centers, and youth/foster care centers.
You can find me sitting in front of my computer doing some digging around the internet to find areas that will benefit from Wave’s resources. If a contact wants to learn more about Wave, I hop on either a Zoom or phone call with them, sharing things about Wave that one cannot find on our website, answering questions they may have, and proposing activities and partnership ideas.
Before emailing a non-profit organization, I do some research about them and connect their mission statement to something they can fulfill here at Wave. I try to cater to each of my emails specifically for each organization to get a higher response rate. After completing a call with an organization or mass emailing, I compile the information onto a spreadsheet concentrated on the LA area.
Why did you join the Wave Team?
At the beginning of the year, I was getting prepared to do an internship that I had planned two years ahead for, but because of the pandemic, that plan fell through. Instead of sitting around my house complaining, I decided that I needed to do something productive so I wouldn’t turn into a lazy, unmotivated bum once the fall semester started.
One day, a good friend of mine texted me to like her post on Facebook, which was conveniently about signing up to be an instructor for Wave 4. Subsequently, I became an instructor and the entire experience was eye-opening. Being part of the experience was simply amazing as we had a class with students from all over the globe, learning synchronously about a subject that we all were passionate about. Immediately when I finished teaching my course, I applied to be part of the Wave Team, and now here I am!
What do you like the most about being part of Wave Outreach?
I would definitely have to say my favorite part of Wave Outreach is the people that I work with. I’ve been able to meet so many talented and passionate individuals that I didn’t think I would be able to meet before joining Wave.
How are you balancing college applications and being a part of Wave? Is it challenging to balance your other extracurricular activities as well?
I wouldn’t say it’s challenging to balance college applications along with other responsibilities — it’s just stressful. One requires self-control not to get distracted to maintain good work habits. For now, I’m just concentrating on the colleges that have the earliest deadlines.
I would be lying if I said managing my overall schedule was easy. The only thing keeping me from losing myself is the calendar on my phone, which sends me reminders of the tasks I need to complete as well as deadlines and appointments. Occasionally, I set alarms to force myself to finish a certain task within a reasonable amount of time.
What do you do outside of school?
Besides studying and completing college applications, I enjoy going hiking and traveling. There’s so much to discover in the world and I love learning new cultures and languages. Before the pandemic, I would travel outside the country at least twice a year. But now, I’ve been enjoying analyzing cinematography and volunteering through private tutoring sessions online that I offer.
Hobbies: Hiking, cooking, penpalling, traveling, running, watching surgery videos
Interests: Languages, culture, cinematography, photography, music, books, environment, health, politics, education, fashion, religion, mental health
What is your favorite subject in school?
My favorite class is definitely English because that was the class that allowed me to have character growth. I used to be self-deprecating in terms of my writing skills and was not confident. I hated participating in group projects and class discussions. However, through my experiences in taking honors and AP English classes, I grew in confidence and was able to come out of my shell. My writing visibly improved and I am now able to tutor other students who are struggling in English. Also another thing — it’s extremely satisfying analyzing writing and making connections. Timed essays are also a new thrill of mine.
Is there anything else you want to say?
Through my time here at Wave, I’ve learned to serve selflessly, because being in a world where life is unpredictable and ever-changing, one cannot take privileges for granted.
Wave Learning Festival is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit providing free, live seminars, tutoring, college application help, career mentorship, and more. If you would like to learn more about Wave Learning Festival, check out our website or contact us at hello@wavelf.org.