Joanna Kenichi Laureola – Xero Accounting Specialist

Hi there!

I am 28 years old from the Philippines. I have a fair complexion, 5’5’’ in height; have a Hispanic-Filipina beauty (thanks to my wonderful genes), dark brown hair with a semi round face and brown eyes. I have 3 tattoos – two rose flowers with my Mum’s year of birth, a sunset painting and my Mum and Dad’s last names.

I graduated with a degree of Marketing Management. I have six years of experience as a Barista/Shift Supervisor here at Starbucks Philippines.

My hobbies and interests are reading books (novels in general), cooking (I am just learning this now), hanging out with my friends from time to time (which means casual drinks out), and most importantly spending time at the beach or going on an adventure (a must!).

Now you know the basics about me. It’s time to get to know me.

What motivates me?

I have gone through several challenges in life just like any other person in this world. But those challenges have helped me to become who I am today, and I am still a work in progress. I always tell myself that how we perceive those challenges will either help us become better at dealing with them or let it destroy us, and I chose the former.

At the age of 18, I was already a working student because my parents were financially unstable at that time and unable to support all 5 of us in school. So I decided to take a stand and looked for a job. My first job was as a Barista at a local shop here in our community and I spent 1.5 years just enjoying what I had.

I was juggling between school and work… I was in my fourth year of high school, fulfilling the role of the Student Council President, and working night shifts and weekends at the local coffee shop!

I met so many people that I am still friends with today and I became more confident in socialising with different people. It was such a great experience.

Then came my college years…

I needed a higher salary to help me cover the expenses and so I applied as a Customer Service Representative in a call center. I spent 6 months there and I was able to enhance my English speaking and proficiency in communicating in the English language. I was also able to develop my customer service skills further. I was actually enjoying my time there but then my Mum had a stroke that caused her right side to become paralyzed. I spent sleepless nights then – working at night, going to school and taking care of her in the hospital. I literally was lucky if I got 4 hours straight of sleep during that time.

So I made the decision to leave the company due to the hectic schedule. I was devastated with what happened to my Mum, but it gave me more motivation to finish my degree and work even harder than before. With the few savings that I had, I could afford to survive with no employment and just focus on my Mum and help my Dad take care of her.

But after a few months of continuous medication and therapy, I needed a job again. So I applied at Starbucks and luckily I was placed close to home and the salary was enough to help us get by. The financial struggles continued on, but we survived. Sadly, my Mum passed away in 2015 and I couldn’t be more depressed.

Then I told myself that life must go on, and that’s when I used those challenges in life to motivate me even more. Life did reward me for all my hard work because I was promoted as a Supervisor at Starbucks and that helped me develop my management and leadership skills further. I received a great amount of awards like Partner of the Quarter and Customer Service of the Year.

And here I am now, venturing into the online profession world as a Virtual Assistant.

I am thankful for all the challenges that I had gone through in my life. Despite the mishaps, I was able to look at the brighter side of every situation. I developed a lot of great skills in terms of working with people and my responsibilities. Reading through my story, I hope I was able to share with you how I am genuinely committed to working with you. Like I said, I am a work in progress… and I can guarantee my commitment to your company, that I will become even more efficient and help you progress through to great success.

Thank you 🙂

For a copy of Joanna’s resume please click here.