A heart filled with gratitude and a mind driven to pay it forward.

Josephine 'Josie' Guico Villanueva served as President of the Association of Government Accountants (AGA) Guam Chapter for the 2022-2023 program year. This article is adapted from her President's Message, published in AGA's Guahan Gaseta.

For many of us, November is an exciting month. It means the start of a holiday celebration, a get-together with family and friends, taking a short vacation during an extended weekend, and anticipating a Black Friday sale. Though I normally celebrate the month with basic routines, this month had some twist to it as my friends intervened and forced me to live in the moment. When was the last time you had to intentionally pause, live in the moment, and practice gratitude?

The Throwback:

The profile photo was taken a few years ago when I first visited the Grand Canyon. Its natural beauty and enchanting scenery amaze me and really give me goosebumps and the feeling of that spiritual connection. It is probably one of the most unforgettable places I’ve been where I made a full stop, leaving the moment to feel the winds that touch my skin and enjoy the quietness of the surroundings. It is a must-see place where you will better appreciate the wondrous work of our Creator. I had a simple Thanksgiving lunch gettogether at my friend’s home in Yigo. As usual, I came in just in time for everyone to start eating. As the rule states, before we can start our meal, we must recite what we are thankful for. That made me pause for a minute and uttered, “I am grateful I survived the week; I am thankful I am surrounded by family and friends who care and who are always there when I needed them the most; and the third thing I’m grateful for is my health.”

Driving back home to prepare for another gettogether dinner, I re-thought the questions and suddenly reminisced about when I was trying to find a job to help me finish college. I was called in for an interview and had to travel to Manila to meet the executive of a big entertainment company. They found out that I was an undergraduate accounting student and had a few more semesters to finish. He said I am not able to give you the job since we need an accounting graduate for a bookkeeper position, but what he did was he asked for my bank account where he can remit some tuition assistance every enrollment. No strings attached but “he made me promise to pay it forward.” I have had many encounters with people who showed me many random acts of kindness that I am forever grateful for.

In the Now:

In this message, I would like to send my sincere gratitude to the members of the AGA Guam Chapter and those who serve on the Chapter Executive Committees. You are the ones that make up the organization and believe in the mission to advance government accountability through continued professional education in different capacities. As we Advance, Grow and Accelerate together may we continue to be engaged and continue to find valuable benefits of being a member through networks and training opportunities and encourage others to join.

Also, a special welcome and thanks to our guests that attended for the first time our inperson meeting for our October 2022 General Membership Meeting and Training. The Rihga Royal Ballroom was filled with new faces which we hope to see in future meetings. The twohour training was graciously led by Mr. Chris Duenas, CFO of Triple J Enterprises covering the topics on MS Excel and increasing productivity using technology which leads to Working Smart Not Hard followed by Ms. Jane Kwok, MSc, Associate Network Director, Pacific SBDC who covers the topic on of Starting the Side Hustle in Maximizing the Earning Potential.

Early in the month, I was also invited by the Junior Accountant Society (JAS) at the University of Guam to speak in celebration of JAS week and International Accounting Day. I was honored to be asked about my journey in accounting and my leadership and how I juggle multiple responsibilities. It was an interesting topic, and it gave me the opportunity to look back and appreciate more of what I have become. I shared with them my perseverance as a working student, a breadwinner who help my siblings and send them to school, my survival kit when time gets tough, and how I encourage them to never give up, keep pushing as there is a guaranteed job in the future that awaits them as the scarcity of accounting and finance in the workforce. Some of the quotes and excerpts from my presentation are inserted in this message.

Take Aways:

In my last President message, I promised to continue my story about the exam I recently took which I called my last hurrah. With all honesty, this is my 3rd attempt, quite difficult since it is a specialty of 16 diverse topics, and I have no time to study. In short, I am taking the review lightly in the hopes that my common sense will work to get a passing grade. I did my very best for this attempt since I find it a waste to spend 4-hours sitting in an exam and expecting to fail. I gave it a fight this time, but the exam format changed, and I hardly passed. I got 74.4 points out of a passing grade of 75. Can you imagine me sending them an email and checking if there is a probability that they can review my scores and see if there is a chance to pass? Thankfully, I just did not settle and rather asked, as soon as they received my scores, they immediately investigate it and find 2 identical questions I was not graded. Now I am the 52nd Certified Diocesan Fiscal Manager in the United States archdiocese which I would say made my day and smile. Sometimes, you just don’t take no for an answer and in any endeavor always give it a fighting chance.

Early this month, I also attended our Mastermind Ladies group retreat. It was a refreshing one with various activities of Yoga, “Chat and Paint”, paddle boarding, and learning steps on Chamorro culture dance. It was highlighted by our speaker who candidly shares his inspiring life journey of resilience and determination. I would say it was a much-needed detachment from the buzz of life and taking self-love and filling my empty cup.

In this season of thanksgiving, there may be times when it is difficult to find gratefulness in our hearts because of difficult circumstances that we are in whether it be our personal or family matters or at work. Always being grateful and counting our blessings defeats the negative energy, and no matter where we are in our journey let us be thankful for how far we’ve come. Have a blessed Thanksgiving everyone!

AGAPresidentsMessageNovember2022.pdf

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