“I wish I had come across an organisation like this when I was at school!”
Alex Chien owns Slow Chew – a mindfulness-focused Taiwanese supper club initiative in Cambridge.
After years of working around the world, she moved to Cambridge with her family and began the hunt for a meaningful volunteering opportunity that would give her a “genuine sense” of giving back.
She really liked what Form the Future was doing and joined the Ambassador Community in 2022.
I like the idea of “giving back”.
I’ve been very fortunate in my career, and sharing some of what I’ve learned feels important. I spent most of my career in the media sector producing and managing content and events before expanding into brand marketing, cultural exhibitions, and large-scale live experiences. Storytelling became a core skill for me, and I really enjoy passing that on to young people — whether in mock interviews or “What’s My Line?” sessions.
It’s rewarding to see students find their voice with confidence!
Sometimes it’s as simple as showing them “tricks” for stringing their answers together and then practising until they sound more confident.
Seeing their smiles when it clicks — when they realise they can do it — makes me happy too.
I always say I wish there had been a Form the Future when I was at school! Working with local students lets me hear directly about their hopes and anxieties — from neurodivergent and gender-fluid young people, to those worried about breaking into industries that can seem hard to reach.
It’s always a delight when someone wants to know about the creative industries.
When students ask me, with wide eyes, “How do you become an event or film producer?” I tell them honestly: I started by making coffee runs and hanging out on set. Most people were down-to-earth, and the occasional diva at least made for a good story!
The point I try to make is that there’s no single path.
Whatever you study, curiosity and openness will take you a long way. Being the kind of person who’s just as comfortable talking to the security guard as to the executive can make all the difference — and it builds empathy, which is useful in life as well as in work.
Interacting with students is a joy.
It brings back memories of what you were like at their age, and you realise your experience can actually be useful!
We share the Ambassador Spotlight in our monthly Ambassador Update emails, as well as on our website and social platforms. It’s a wonderful way to raise the profile of your own volunteering whilst supporting Form the Future in a new and different way.
If you’d like to feature in our next Ambassador Spotlight, email Dawn, our Ambassador Engagement Manager and she’ll send you questions to respond to.