Pinoy is a UK mayor

Pinoy nurse elected UK mayor 

Helen Flores
Philippine Star
18 May 2019

MANILA, Philippines — A Filipino nurse has been elected mayor of East Grinstead in West Sussex, United Kingdom.

Danilo Favor will serve as town mayor from 2019 to 2020, according to the website of East Grinstead Town Council. He is the first Filipino to be elected town mayor in the UK.

Danilo Favor will serve as town mayor from 2019 to 2020, according to the website of East Grinstead Town Council. He is the first Filipino to be elected town mayor in the UK.

In 2018, Favor was elected deputy mayor of East Grinstead.

Favor has been the town councilor of Ashplats Ward since 2011 and works as ophthalmic clinical nurse specialist at the Queen Victoria Hospital.

“Entering into British politics was God given opportunity. It was not our plan and beyond my dreams and expectations,” Favor was quoted by ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau as saying.

One of the mayor’s charities is the Queen Victoria Hospital Charitable Funds, which aims “to support the work, patient support and research carried out at the hospital,” the East Grinstead website said.

He would also prioritize the creation of EG First Responders, which aims to respond to emergency medical situations within eight minutes.

Favor would also push for the establishment of EG Street Pastors, who will patrol the streets late at night on weekends and after school hours.

Favor migrated to the UK in 2000 with his wife Maribel, also a nurse.

In 2014, Favor received a Community Service Award from Mid-Sussex District Council for his active involvement in various community organizations.

Prior to entering politics, he received the Presidential Banaag Award for outstanding individuals and organizations overseas that promoted the interests of overseas Filipino communities.

Favor graduated in the Philippines with a degree in nursing and completed his ophthalmology nurse specialist studies at King’s College in London.

Pinoy nurse in Ireland"s Got Talent

Filipino nurse Rodelle Borja gets standing ovation in Ireland's Got Talent

Louise Danielle Talabis

PEP.ph

20 February 2019

The 29-year old, who works in a nursing home in Dublin, Ireland, was commended for his rendition of "Can't Help Falling In Love.”



All four judges stood up and clapped for him at the end of his performance.

“Brilliant, you nailed that. You’re a beautiful human-being you got beautiful voice” said judge Jason Byrne.

American singer Michelle Visage also praised the Filipino nurse’s performance.

“You have nothing to be nervous about, yours did not get in your way but what I love most in your version is that you made it 100% your way. I didn’t hear any echo of Elvis Presley at all, it was all Rodelle.”

Denise Van Outen added: “It is such a beautiful moment hearing you, it was so lovely.”

Rodelle’s heart-melting rendition earned him four yes votes from the judges.

In an interview, Rodelle disclosed that he joined the competition in order to inspire other people.

“Growing up with stutter was quite difficult because I am not really that confident in expressing myself by talking. I expressed myself more, better by singing," he said.

Watch Rodelle Borja's performance in Ireland's Got Talent:

https://youtu.be/c0O81FkIx58

Global Pinay Engineer

Filipina ends up a successful engineer in her journey as global Filipino


Carissa Villacorta, PH Time is Now
ABS-CBN News
08 December 2018

How many times have we seen "To All The Boys I've Loved Before" on Netflix?

We probably never had a complaint about the quality of streaming; we just enjoyed the movie.

That's because the software engineers and research scientists responsible for video analysis, processing, and encoding are the best in the field, and leading them as director of Video Algorithms is Filipina engineer Anne Aaron.

Anne Aaron, a Filipino, is at the forefront of efforts to ensure excellent viewing experience in a leading entertainment subscription company.

As the team leader, Aaron helps ensure that all 137 million members of Netflix can watch their favorite movies and television shows with the best quality of video possible.

Anne Aaron (third from left, upper row) is an engineer who has found herself in the IT big league in the US. 

Two decades ago, when Aaron was barely in college, research by the National Science Foundation (NSF) found that only 23.6 percent of people who worked in STEM fields in the US were women – a statistic that didn’t stop Aaron from pursuing a career in computer engineering. 

Now a maven in her field, Aaron takes pride in seeking out and creating opportunities for one's self - something she would advise people to do if they want to succeed. 

Seek out and create opportunities for yourself," engineer Anne Aaron advises. 

'Take things into your own hands' 

Aaron recalled she has always liked science and computers. She graduated from a specialized public high school in the Philippines that operated as an attached agency of the Department of Science and Technology (DoST), the Philippine Science High School. Then, in college, she decided to major in both Physics and Computer Engineering.

At that time, there were not a lot of opportunities in the Philippines for people like her who wanted to be in the STEM field. If one was good in school, the normal route would have been to join a multinational like Proctor & Gamble or Unilever, and then maybe get an MBA along the way.

Aaron said she knew that was not for her; she looked for greener pastures in the United States where she applied to some of most prestigious engineering schools in the world. Her mindset was that she needed to learn from the best.

She ended up earning her Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University. 

"Soon after, I immersed myself in the startup scene in the Bay Area and through the years, experienced the good, the bad, and everything in between. All of those led me here," Aaron said. 

'Stay focused, power through the obstacles' 

"I try not to dwell too much on the fact that sometimes, I’m the only woman and the only Filipino in a room of engineers. It is hard being part of the minority in the tech industry, but it won’t be to my benefit if I let that get in the way of doing my best in the field that I love," she said. 

Aaron said she also feels she has been "extremely lucky" because while there might be preconceived biases against her as a woman and as a Filipino, she was blessed with the generosity of other people. 

"A lot of incredible people – colleagues, family, friends and mentors – throughout my journey have helped me power through them," she said. 

To know more about this project, visit www.phtimeisnow.com 

Carissa Villacorta is an author and a publicist. She is the creator of #PHTimeIsNow. She has been running her own PR firm in New York since 2007, with high-profile business executives and multinational companies as her clients.