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Cooee Inc invades Whale Logistics Australia’s office one Friday afternoon to bring out the Filipino in them as they experience our culture through Food and fun games enjoyed by all. Snacks such as polvoron and ube langka candies have been served on the table while the WHAM Team, headed by Charisse, Ram and Crissy, took over the floor for some Cooee Inc Unplug activities. PINOY HENYO Tao? Bagay? Hayop? Lugar? A game common in any Filipino parties; popularized by TV segment aired in Filipino noontime show ‘EAT BULAGA’. The goal is to correctly guess the word placed at someone’s forehead in two minutes and is played by pair. The guesser must ask a series of questions that the second player can only answer with YES (OO), NO (HINDI) and MAYBE/POSSIBLE (PWEDE) through deductive questions. HEPHEP HOORAY A Filipino game popularized by ‘WOWOWIN’ show host, Willie Revillame; the objective is to yell out loud Hephep! While clapping your hands below, and yell Hooray! With your hands up in the air, in that order. If the participant gets confused and makes a mistake, they are out of the game until one person remains. PINOY TONGUE TWISTER A word even us Filipinos struggle to say, and what more to when said by Australians? As hard as tongue twisters are in English, it gets more challenging if the word is in a different language. Watch our Aussies in Whale as they hilariously recite complicated Tagalog words for our game Filipino Tongue Twisters

As the spirit of Christmas, the denouement of 2022 as well as the embracing of 2023 is fast approaching, have you had time to reflect on “What are you most grateful for 2022” and “What are you hoping for 2023?” We have different stories to tell on how 2022 has impacted our lives, some are stories of victory, and some are defeats that will fuel us to thrive more. As I remembered it was almost 4 years ago when I dreamed and prayed about where I am now, and true enough, and up until now, it was an answered prayer. At first, when Kris and JP invited me to join the “AU Visit” that I was dreaming of before, without any hesitation I accepted the invite unknowing the responsibilities and actions it entails. Months of preparation had passed by, and a week before our flight, an anxious and doubtful mind had traversed my mind. Am I ready for these responsibilities? But going back to my purpose, I immediately shake off those negative thoughts. I believe this opportunity will contribute and lead me to another transformation and learning, I just must believe in my potential and be authentic. Let me share another remarkable story on how I am grateful for 2022. One of my stories that I am grateful for is being chosen to join the “AU Visit”. I know this trip itself is remarkable not only with the memories and most importantly the learnings and transformation I would gain from this experience. The day has finally arrived, and my first ever face-to-face client visit and the meeting was a great experience and kinda easy peasy knowing I was with Kris, Joyce, and Meiko. As for me being the only person handling Computertrans, the true battle will begin in the next few days as I will be meeting the rest of the Computertrans Team all by myself. I know there would be a lot of challenges that I would be facing once I am alone, knowing me as an introverted person and all it takes is reminding myself how far I have come. My visit and stay there became smoother and more meaningful because of the hospitality of Jacky, Jasper, Leslie, and the rest of the Computertrans team. I felt the reciprocated love from their warm welcome -introducing me to almost every employee that was there, every day pick up and drop off schedule from and to the train station arranged by them. A breakfast, lunch, and dinner treat by them, a sleepover invite to their place from Leslie and a city tour with Leslie’s family (her husband and daughters), sharing stories with me about themselves and their family are some of the evidence of the built connection between us. I could never ask for more – good people plus good food. Being tired from all the activities I had during the visit, it is easily swept with music in my ears - the commendation I heard directly from them – “Thank you for all of your help and for saving a lot of my time”, and I know how precious and how they value their time. Aside from my client, the other clients of Cooee have welcomed and embraced us as if we are part of their family, thank you Whale Logistics, Bill, and Marie. Thank you to the Buckham family for the beautiful BBQ party and these significant opportunities for us. Truly, Australia and its people are AU-some, AU-mazing, and AU-stonishing. To Joyce, Meiko, Cha, Ram, and Crissy, I thank you all for the support, and love and for making this journey one of the happiest and most unforgettable memories. Above all these meaningful and great experiences, I would say that the mission, values, and all the character traits that Cooee and my Cooee team have instilled in me are the ones that unlocked the connection between me and Computertrans Team and indeed it deserved to be celebrated. As I am about to flip another year in my life with Cooee and Computertrans I am excited for another success story for myself and Cooee and to have opportunities that have an immeasurably impact on me, personally and professionally.

PURPOSE. Many people frequently overlook the fact that everyone ought to have a purpose. For me, it took a long time to realize how significant this was. Everyone wakes up early in the morning feeling energized and hopeful because they have a PURPOSE. I lacked all of these things before, but eventually after finding my purpose it allowed me to live my life the way it should be, full with meaning. When life is tough and I'm struggling or things don't go my way, this becomes my fuel. When the pandemic arrived, I recall how many people struggled, and I watched how many of them recovered, especially those with goals. See, our lives are largely driven by our sense of purpose. However, not just in every individual, but also in every business. I was extremely taken aback by the way Cooee presented its purpose during my interviews before I joined them. Only a few companies in the Philippines have a clear purpose that is reflected in the way their employees work. Because of this, I am truly amazed and can affirm that they are a game-changer. But not only Cooee, last 6th of May, 2022, I was able to witness another organization with a mission, with a goal, with a purpose. In the course of one of our Cooee Connects, Chin Chin Calayan and I were offered the chance to host this online event alongside Daniel Afonso, CEO of National Projects & Maintenance or NPM. It was an honor to be able to ask him some important questions. And I remember that afternoon, I am confident that we will benefit from his answers. He established NPM in 2004 and has since successfully expanded his building and construction company. Australia-wide, National Projects & Maintenance (NPM) provides the property sector with high-quality asset services. NPM offers commercial, industrial, public, and private assets design, project, and construction services, as well as maintenance solutions. We had many questions for him, but His responses mostly made clear to us his and their purposes. The company's primary tagline is "places for people." And they value every individual associated with their business – employees, clients and even the indigenous people. As I mentioned during that interview, it's really great to see a company whose goal is not only centered on themselves but also on others, particularly those kinds of people. And I'm hoping that more creative individuals will emerge in our nations, especially to defend or uphold the rights of the local indigenous population. I can clearly see that they are in the business of doing their best so that others, or majority can experience their own excellence. However, every business, even the most successful ones, faced numerous challenges and took certain risks in order to keep going. Daniel Afonso also gave us a glimpse of his. How he took some efforts to start this company many years ago, and how he continues to take risks as part of their growth. How they handled conflicts within the organization and the lessons they took away from it. They were moulded by challenges and risks, and their PURPOSE kept them moving forward throughout those trying times. I can easily see that their purpose played a significant role in their growth and how they are now operating. Our discussion taught me a ton, in all honesty. And in conclusion, it is undeniably clear that PURPOSE matters in all circumstances. Despite the fact that it was extremely nerve-wracking, I am grateful that I was selected to be one of the hosts of this online event. Speaking with people who are purpose-driven makes me happy since I know I will gain knowledge and wisdom from them. I still have a lot to learn in this life, and this talk with this incredibly motivating CEO left a lasting impression on me. I feel truly privileged and humbled to be a member of the NPM Manila Team.

Have you imagined yourself working in a company without a single person to encourage you, and believe in your potential? I am certain that a company plays an important role in our journey as professionals. By saying "company" I meant our boss, manager, and colleagues. A group of people who provide practical and emotional support is important to our day-to-day life because sometimes too much work pressure can make our minds rigid. Face-to-face bonding such as team fostering was a good idea, especially after a long time of just meeting the team virtually. It was a great night to be connected with them and finally met some of my teammates for the first time like Loraine. We all had quality time together, we had our dinner at a Korean BBQ restaurant, had a quick yet humorous karaoke night, and watched a suspenseful horror movie. These are just simple things that we can experience any time. But one thing I realized, it's not about the place and the time that makes a moment count, it is the people you spend it with. The humorous vibe of everyone made it unforgettable. Spending a short time with them I found out that regardless of age, everyone still has its "kulit (mischievous) side" , from Jackie the youngest in the team up to our beautiful and sweet big sisters, like Roslyn, Meiko, and Joane. I cannot imagine that night without their presence. And I believe to keep the team to stick together we just need to keep it a bit more fun. To the team, thank you so much for a wonderful and well-spent team bonding, and of course, thank you Cooee for valuing connections within the team and making this team fostering possible. Lastly, to answer my question, have I ever imagined myself working in a company with no one encouraging me? Of course not, but this company where I am now is the company where I feel that I am encouraged, nurtured, and valued.

“Is fostering the same with Team Building? What is fostering?” These were my curiosity questions because honestly, I didn't know what fostering is until I first heard of it when I got into Cooee and saw some of my colleagues post their experience on social media that they had a blast together. Part of our fostering was bowling and dining at Samgyeopsal Restaurant – a South Korean delicacy. The first stop was bowling, before the game most of us shared that we haven’t experienced bowling and we were not confident enough to strike those bowling pins even if we squint our eyes or most probably our bowling ball might roll onto the gutter, yikes! Hence, everyone is so reluctant to be the first player. We started imitating poses of other professional bowlers and minutes after, the game started. We were so clueless and struggling on how we were going to get a strike but after rounds of playing we were finally able to strike (thanks to our muscle memory), everyone was supportive and applauded every time we scored. We really had such a great time playing together and it made me want to play more of this someday because I truly enjoyed it despite the minor sore. Not far from where the bowling center was, we went to a restaurant. We were all chatting to get a chance to know more about ourselves while waiting for our food to arrive. After hours of enjoying our food, we bid our goodbyes and went home safely. I thought fostering was merely hanging out with your colleagues, but it was way more than that. Fostering gave us positive emotions, strong bonds, and time to personally engage with each other which I believe that these would help us lessen our stress at work and burnouts and improve the employee well-being during this time of pandemic. It was simple yet a memorable experience! Had a chance to experience what was felt by others in their fostering. Thank you Cooee for the fantastic experience and letting us enjoy our moments together. Going back to my question, what is fostering? For me, fostering is a moment of disconnecting us from work to reconnect with people on the outside world of working from home.

Who would have thought that because of the challenges I’ve encountered before, I will be nominated and will become Q3 Walk the Cooee Way Champion? It was such an honor to be appreciated and to be noticed by someone I never thought would do. While hearing and reading the narrative made by my sister/frenemy, Crissy, my heart was jumping, my tears really want to go out, and many things were running in my mind. That was the time when my world seems to move slow. All I can say to myself was, “Yeah! That’s what I did, I really did a great job!” And I am very grateful first to God, because of unending strengths he is giving me, next is to my family that remains as my inspiration and motivation and lastly to those people who support me and seeing the best in me despite the failures and hardships. It’s a great feeling to know that I’m creating a big impact to other people by just being me, by just living the values and applying all the things I’ve learned in my past years working with Cooee. Never underestimate the power of being present. By facing challenges with full presence and awareness, challenges are not challenges at all. The secret? Mindfulness, it helps me bring that focus to myself during difficult times. Being Authentic, I was able to learn when to ask help from other people when I can no longer carry the burdens. It’s not because I am weak, but because I want to remain strong. Life is full of challenges. Some challenges seem enormous and harsh, but if you remain centered and full of awareness, no challenge is too big to meet with power and grace. “God is faithful. He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.” - 1Corinthians 10:13

With a joyful and grateful heart, thank you, Cooee for the opportunity to share my story. It was such a surprise to be nominated and awarded as an Optimal Me Winner for Quarter 3. I started to enjoy working with Cooee this year. Cooee made me feel stable and grounded. Family is my number 1 priority, and the opportunity to stay at home makes the tasks easier. I feel that I am on the right track, I chose to stay. And I'm glad I did. I am sincerely thankful to my coach Crissy who made this award possible. Thank you for listening, appreciating, and believing in my potential. Thank you also to my teammates (Lucky Corp/ Autograb), to my Gen-Pop daily huddle family, Miss JP, and Miss Meiko for being there to guide and see my development and for making a significant influence. To our dearest CEO Miss Pia and Kris, thank you for the opportunity. I am grateful for all the programs we have, to keep us connected virtually or onsite. The value of believing in your potential allows me to put my foot forward without fear of judgment and understand that there's more to life by being you without focusing on perfection. Cooee Values enable me to grow limitlessly. And everyone is capable of doing great things rooted in oneself’s authenticity and potential, as well as by embedding empathy towards other people. With a willingness to work and learn, I will continue to strive and push forward and will genuinely allow Cooee's influence to impart in my everyday progress. Our story matters just like we do, let it be heard and have the power to break down barriers. Remember that: “ In Everything you do, you are fruitful. Every part of you is meaningful. You are you. You can. We can. ”

It’s our privilege to be the Head Mistresses of this Q3 House Champion – House Autonomy. Our journey to reach the championship was not easy. Like the other teams, we faced a lot of struggles, given that we have different tasks to do at work and personal things to attend to. The good thing about this House Competition is that you can easily get to know each other because of the activities you are doing. As we are currently on virtual set up, we need to extend our ways to connect to each other. Because of this, we also discovered talents from the house members. Each team member has a story to share – Khryztynne, a fresh graduate, and Loraine, a Nooee, took the challenge to facilitate the weekly Cooee-ck Connect with bravery and excellence. Hans, who always made himself available in times we needed a volunteer on some games, JP who showed incredible energy on each activity alongside helping to carry the team, and the other members who also supported the team until the last fight. If there is a common ground in all of us, that will be being competitive and bringing the best in each other. For us, the house mistresses, that is a great reward already. We could not ask for more. We believe in the saying that TEAMWORK makes the DREAM WORKS. No man is an island. We need someone to help us reach the top. To the Team – JP, Hans, Chrizel, Loraine, Chris, Doreen, Justine, Mik, Ram, Jonelle, Pam, Polla and Khryztynne. Thank you! Kudos to each one of you.

Everybody knows that we spent our entire life studying. We have already made numerous trips to preschool, elementary school, high school, to senior high and lastly in college. Our life has always been intertwined with education. For me, Graduation Day is the day that your academic career formally ends, and you are referred to as a "Graduate." One of those significant events that is frequently referred to as a "rite of passage" in students' lives. Although, graduation ceremonies at universities all over the world vary. Remembering when I was still in elementary school, It was really my dream to finish my studies knowing that I’m still young but every night It was always on my prayers to let me finish my studies because I know right from the start it will not be that easy. For me, graduation teaches us that milestones are not just achievements, but it’s also a new beginning. Especially in my journey as a student, I have faced a lot of struggles in life and in school. Considering that we are the batch one of K12 which adds another 2 years in studying, and aside from that the Covid-19 happened it changed the world. I remember when I was in my Second Year in college, it was hard. The ECQ instructed all residents to stay at home, and the closure of all non-essential business establishments, even schools and universities, public transportation facilities, malls and shopping centers, churches, and many more. I get to adjust from going to the University every day and spending my whole day in the classroom to staying at home and studying online. But despite all the challenges I’ve faced during my college days, last August I finally ended my journey as a student. Looking back on all the hardship I’ve encountered, I thank God and especially my family, friends and people who motivate and believe in me. I can say that it was all worth it. And I personally would like to thank “me” for getting to this point off all the sleepless nights, cries and struggle I finally was able to endure and make it possible to graduate on time. Right now, I am grateful I was given an opportunity to work here in Cooee as my first job after my graduation. Thanks to this company, they believe in the potential I have, and I’ll make sure that I give my best as one of their employees.

The corporate world has always been a mystery to me. The image of people seriously glued to computers, having various spreadsheets on the monitor, a steaming cup of coffee on the table, and stacks of papers on the side, had stuck with me. Perhaps that is true in some other companies, and maybe at Cooee too, to some extent. But more on that later. You may be wondering as well, who am I? I'm still not quite sure myself. But here are some facts about me: I am a confused and self-critical recent graduate of accounting, and my first job is working as a financial analyst at Cooee. I am supposed to find a job immediately after a short break after graduating. But because of the pandemic and lockdowns happening then, that plan was postponed. But eventually, restrictions have eased, and with the vaccines, the world has become a bit safer. After scouring the job sites and filtering posts that accepted people with no experience, I stumbled upon a post from Cooee. I never really give it much thought anymore. The more I think things through, the more likely I will end up doing nothing. So, I applied, and lo and behold, they responded fast. Within the duration of the lockdown, I actually tried doing a lot of things I didn't normally do. I cleaned the house regularly, I exercised daily, I ate healthier, and I grew out my hair. Upon receiving a schedule for a video interview, I immediately got a haircut. A decision I am kind of regretting because, apparently, it is allowed at Cooee. As you can imagine, this is one of the life decisions that keeps me up at night. As of writing this, I am currently in my 8th or 9th month, if I can count correctly. Time flies so fast. But from the job interviews and spending time in the office, I can tell that the people here are nice. And nice people don't just happen by accident. It could be a personal choice to be nice, but you also attribute it to the working environment at Cooee. You are free to take a breather when things get a bit too stressful. My manager is easy to talk to and very down-to-earth. I don't know if other companies do this, but I even got a chance to have coffee with the CEO. I was internally shaking during my first few months, even until now. I am kind of amazed at how much and how fast Cooee is changing. I am glad to have found a company that practices their values of authenticity, being empathetic, and believing in potential. The same values that I tried to live with before even realizing it. I've rambled on long enough. If there's something I want you to take away from my experience, it's that you need to take a leap of faith sometimes. You can always ask yourself "When am I ready?", but you probably don't know unless you just take that leap. It's tough not knowing things, everything is mostly a mystery, but such is life.

While there have been numerous positive outcomes that has risen from working from home, working remotely has put everyone at a disadvantage of creating a personal working relationship with the people you communicate closely with. The moderation team of Zookal is a newly formed team, short of a year old. When I joined, it was just Mei and myself, then we eventually grew the team to include 4 more moderators. Ours was a relationship formed by the 20,000 plus solutions sent in by tutors in October to December of 2021. And while we have not yet met each other at that time, the team worked well like we knew each other for a while. Fast forward to the early part of the year when the world started to ease restrictions for tourists due to the pandemic. Mei has always casually mentioned visiting the Philippines to meet the team. Little did we know that it would become a reality when she flew in May from her holiday in Singapore. What was supposed to be a week-long meet was shortened to 4 days as she has missed her flight on the 26th. Our initial meeting at the Cooee could be described as warm. Having worked closely with her for almost a year, I was expecting a different person. She is one of the taller Chinese persons I’ve met – and I’ve worked with plenty. But appearances aside, it was as if we’ve known each other for a long time. The dynamics was there, the close work relationship was there; the only difference was that all I needed to do was call out for her when I needed something,. We also met up with Lara and her team. It was nice putting a face to the names we only usually see on Slack. And it was better knowing the CS team at a deeper level aside from tutor emails and tech problems. The whole team finally got to meet on the 30th of May. And if I were to describe that day, it would be “reawakening”. We always knew that the group worked well, despite different backgrounds. But having a personality identified for each member was a new experience for everyone. Mei was gracious to share rooms with the girls on the team. We talked about introducing her to part of the Philppine culture – food. The team brought her to fast food chains that were homegrown Filipino. She mentioned eating halo-halo - per layer - on a solo trip to MOA. Since there were no proper halo-halo places in the vicinity, Chowking to the rescue. She enjoyed Jollibbee too, and the sisig that we had with the CS girls and Ms Joyce and Cha. But what was most memorable was finally working together in person - holding meetings together, getting each other’s opinions on work related matters, sharing suggestions that could improve the platform. While we are able to do this online, having to do it face-to-face gives you a different kind of high. It makes you more connected knowing that you’re beside each other in a room, in the same building. And we have so many people to thank for this. To Kris and Pia, who initiated this trip and planned it when Mei mentioned she was coming over, thank you for the warm, warm welcome you have shown us. To Ms Joyce, Marie, Nats and the rest of the HR team, from the planning to logistics to getting everyone to Makati and back safely, thank you for your kindness and thoroughness. To Ms Cha, Ms JP, Sir Chris, Kenneth, thank you for making sure we had what we needed while in the office. To the team, thanks for coming down. You know we always have your backs. And to Mei, never did we imagine a meeting like this. Thank you for pushing through with the trip despite a couple of hesitations along the way. Short as it was, it has made each of us know our worth for the team better. Thank you Cooee for this.

Being a fresh grad with zero experience in the real world is a very challenging and nerve-wracking situation for me since I like to always be in my comfort zone. I am not the type of person who will go beyond my limits. I am lucky enough to have NPM as my client. I started working with them as a Project Administrator during my early months which is a position that is beyond my knowledge as an accounting graduate. I should have backed out right? But no. Thankfully I did not since my wonderful journey will start from here. From Administrator, months later I became part of the finance team as an Accounts Payable. As a beginner in this career, I have learnt a lot during my first months that consists of training and encouragement. I was able to handle different accounts of NPM subsidiaries which is a great experience as a newcomer in this field and at the same time was able to talk to different people, which I cannot imagine since I lack confidence in myself. I just wanted to add that this is an Australian based company so I thought that language and culture, not to mention the distance, will be a problem between us. But as I said, I was lucky enough to work with the NPM family who showed me how approachable, supportive, and friendly they are. They are very open to sharing their knowledge, happy to offer help whenever you need, and I have never felt a lack of support at any time working with them. It's been more than a year now having NPM as my client and every day is still a challenge. These challenges turned into opportunities since working with this company is a great opportunity indeed. It is a company that offers opportunities to foster and grow not just an individual but as a team, both professionally and personally. I am happy to say that I am no longer in my comfort zone because they believe in me, they have trust in me that I can be of help and can contribute something to the company.