Moving across the world to start a new life in a country with new people, a new company, and a completely foreign language is a huge first step for any recent college graduate. Joey DiGangi III and I (Chris Heron) took on this great task only months after earning a bachelor’s degree from Juniata College. While both of us started our own businesses in college, taking big risks and accepting challenges is something we were used to, but this was the biggest challenge yet.
Everyone at Kdan Mobile made this transition very easy and really looked after us to make sure we were able to help the company as best we can, and get the most out of the overall experience. After 9 months of living in Taiwan, we have met many great people, gained many new skills, and learned a lot about the culture and business in Asia.
Joey is now travelling back to the U.S. to help start up the new Kdan Mobile office in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania. Before he left, we wanted to pick his brain about some of the great experiences he had.
What were your most memorable moments?
“Overall, my most memorable moments are all with the friends I’ve made here. I think my favorite memory here was the Chinese New Year Celebration. I spent the whole week with some of my closest friends I’ve made here, had an amazing home-cooked steak dinner, and spent time at the local beach. A group of friends here also spent a long weekend in Kenting at the beach. The nature was beautiful, I tried snorkeling for the first time in my life, and got to hang out with some awesome people!”
How has work at Kdan helped you?
“One of the areas in marketing that I’ve always found interesting was setting up collaborations with other brands and teams. That’s something I’ve gotten a chance to learn a lot about first-hand with Kdan, and I think that’s a great business skill!”
What was your favorite food?
“The whole surrounding area by Kdan’s office is filled with awesome food. I love going out with everyone here to try new things. I think one of my favorite new foods is the rice omelette, which is basically what it sounds like–an omelette packed with rice and meat. Besides that, there’s a lot of different foods with seasons and flavors I’ve never tried until I came to Taiwan that I’m going to miss.”
Do you know any new chinese words?
“One of my favorite things is when I was able to memorize my tea order. 紅茶，無糖微冰 (that means black tea, no sugar light ice)
How has this experience set you up for your next stage in life?
“This experience directly leads me to the next stage in my life, which is returning to the U.S., where I’ll be working directly with Wei-Chung Wang, our V.P. of global marketing, to establish the U.S. office for Kdan. That’s what I’ll be spending my immediate future working on, and can’t wait for the next opportunity.”
We love to see our employees grow, and we are excited to see all that Kdan Mobile and the U.S. office has to offer in the future.