My ADE Institute 2011 Experience in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Throughout the past few years, my life has been like a roller coaster ride. After working as a technology educator in Peru, I felt that I had been trapped within the realms of my institution with little chances of professional growth. For this reason, my wife and I decided to risk it all for the sake of a better future. After a few years of absence due to graduate studies, I jumped back to the school arena in Thailand. However, once settled in, I realized that I urgently needed to make professional connections with people in my field around the area. This is when ADE Asia Institute 2011 comes to the rescue.

I have to admit that the ADE Program has been planned, executed to fit my particular needs, and has provided numerous take-aways. All in all, my mind and heart have been continuously touched with inspiring keynotes and presentations. I thank all presenters for engaging me, sparking new ideas, and providing countless learning opportunities (Keynotes and Unconferences). Furthermore, I greatly valued the group collaboration and interaction activities during the day (group challenges and dynamics, the Photo Walk, the ADE Saigon Race, and Project Saigon 360) and the reflection sessions in the evenings. Many thanks to my group facilitators for listening and mediating at our reflexive conversations, conveying our concerns to improve the conference each day. Thanks Jane and Josh. In addition, my sincere appreciation to the local students for listening to us, translating, and using their understanding of the Vietnamese culture during the development of our projects. They were all an inspiration to me. Thanks Tam.

As we moved into the "Branding" exercises, I started to realize the importance of my presence in my community. This exercise helped me to reflect on my role as an Author, Ambassador, Advisory and Advocate. It was during this time that I came up with the following work related precepts:

  1. Always be willing to learn about the what, where, when, why, and how of things.
  2. Always listen to others and value what they genuinely have to offer.
  3. Do your best to understand and empathize with others.
  4. Share your knowledge to contribute to the improvement of your community.
  5. Always bring balance to your life.
  6. Always pursue opportunities and challenges to improve and grow personally and professionally.
  7. Don't be afraid to take risks and adapt to changes.

I will make sure that they remain visible at all times. These constitute the raw materials for my personal branding in the future. Currently, I don't know what shape it will have, but I have genuinely started with something.

During the 6 days that I spent in Ho Chi Minh City, I have met great people, both in person and through the "Double Click" sessions. I had an awesome time chatting with my roommate Oscar, sharing and learning from each other. Nevertheless, it was also great to have seamless work related conversations with other fellow ADEs as we walked on the streets, sat on a bus or taxi, and even at the restaurants. However, not only did we talk about work, but also about our families, friends and any other interest that we had.

There is no question that the facilities were superb. I can't complain about my room, the food, and the attention that I received by all the Apple representatives, guiding me as I moved from one place to another and answering my questions. What a fabulous team.

Undoubtedly, the ADE Program has successfully worked it's magic on me. I am certain that the ADE Community will become a very strong pillar in my professional career. Thanks for the letting me be part of the ADE family. I truly feel honored.