Sook Jin Ong
I met Sook Jin when we were both international graduate students at the University of Minnesota, in the Humphrey School of Public Affairs. I got to know her a little bit when our paths occasionally overlapped, and we reconnected recently and she so very graciously spoke with me for the Spotlight Series.
Her core identity as Malaysian-Chinese is the beginning of her origin story, especially the further away she has been from home. She is not naive; every place has its hard bits and trauma. She grew up in a family of five, with a close extended family, in a lower middle working class space. Her family was full of people from different backgrounds, and she attributes that as a key reason for the love she feels for the different identities, languages, experiences people have. This love and curiosity has helped her navigate the world well.
Food has been a key part of her upbringing, and her life now (she has been in Minnesota for 11 years). Food is the beginning of understanding people for her, and you will see how this shows up in her professional life as well.
She reflects that if you asked her seven year old self, she would not be able to imagine any version of her current life - professionally she now co-directs the ROOT (Reclaim Our Own Time) Fund at Nexus Community Partners - a new initiative centered on building rest and restorative practices among BIPOC changemakers. Prior to that, she served as the DEI Director at the Second Harvest Heartland Food Bank. Her career has not been linear: she has always been interested in Sciences, did her undergraduate in Economic and Management, and has been drawn to creative problem solving. She started doing consulting work in Malaysia, and knew that she wanted to be able to have more societal impact.
At Humphrey, she led the Future Services Institute, which helped state agencies and government to improve human services provided to residents. Her work focused on building equitable spaces.
One of the key lessons she has learned (and one that resonates deeply with me), is to not worry about making the perfect choice. She never had the perfect choice, but did have choices, and acknowledges that not all of us even have the privilege of choosing.
She has worked in different jobs, and learned a lot about herself in roles she hated, in jobs that challenged her.There is no perfect linear path, and she wouldn’t change anything about hers. Her mentor, Gwen Freed, was instrumental in helping her move past feeling like an imposter and understanding that this was perfectly okay.
Professionally she refuels by engagement with the people she gets to work with, at her organization and in other spaces. People are doing amazing things, being thoughtful and having impact, and all of this brings her hope for the work that is to be done in this world. None of us can solve it alone, and it is the abundance approach that drives her.
Personally, she has been writing poetry, a little more now than ever before. Having a creative outlet has always been important to her. We learned about our shared love of poetry in this conversation. Her self-exploration is for herself, to reclaim her narrative, and does need to have an external audience. She also enjoys music, and was introduced to Irish music through her husband, and is part of the vibrant community that exists in the Twin Cities. The communal and non-hierarchical nature of the music is particularly enjoyable for her.
For the Sook Jin of the future, she mentions that she wants to focus on her health, especially as she has had issues come up that have given her pause, and caused her to reflect on how she treats her body and mental health. She wants to be mindful of her whole being, and knows that everything else will then fall into a place.
Her parents, who have experienced hard things in their lives, are a big influence in her life. Her father gives 150% to everything he does. He has always seen her potential, from a young age, and pushed against the gender stereotypes that could limit the choices and opportunities available to her. Her mom is the sweetest and most resourceful person, who did not grow up with much, and is adept at coming up with alternatives and repurposing. She remembers her mom’s love of MacGyver, and reflects that that is exactly who her mom is, scrappy and resourceful.
As we come close to the end of our conversation, she reiterates that one of the best things we can do for ourselves is to take the time out to know ourselves. It might feel self-indulgent but it is not. The lofty notion of leaving a legacy is not for her; rather she wants to be deeply aware of how she shows up in the world, how she can be thoughtful, and not add to the pain and struggles so many of us experience.
I leave you at the end with some of her favorite poetry.
Lucille Clifton’s won’t you celebrate with me https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/50974/wont-you-celebrate-with-me
Ada Limón’s Wonder Woman https://onbeing.org/poetry/wonder-woman/
Michael Kleber-Diggs’s Gloria Mundi https://onbeing.org/poetry/gloria-mundi/