Bold Journey: Meet Macy Summer Punzalan

Full Article can be accessed here.

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Macy Summer Punzalan a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Macy Summer , you’ve got such an interesting story, but before we jump into that, let’s first talk about a topic near and dear to us – generosity. We think success, happiness and wellbeing depends on authentic generosity and empathy and so we’d love to hear about how you become such a generous person – where do you think your generosity comes from?

My family taught me what it means to give relentlessly to others. Growing up as a child of first and second-generation immigrants, it was instilled in me that everything in my life was a blessing, not to be taken for granted. That our situation in life could have been drastically different. My family often volunteered to serve at soup kitchens where we were able to build relationships with those in our community who often do not receive much care or attention. My desire to continue to uplift underserved communities stems from the generosity that my family continues to demonstrate to this day.

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

I am passionate about community, art, and dental public health. I have merged these passions into the Pristine Pearls Project, a non-profit organization. Pristine Pearls Project aims to increase access to quality dental care through hosting oral hygiene collection drives and fundraising for patients in need of dental care by selling pearl jewelry. The pearls represent teeth because, like your smile, they are classy and never go out of style. Each jewelry piece is thoughtfully designed to evoke timeless elegance and delicate beauty. The pieces are carefully handcrafted and consist of beading and wire bending.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

Creativity, resilience, and courage are the three qualities that most impacted me in my journey. Creativity gifted me the opportunity to think outside of the box, resilience convinced me to keep going when the going got tough, and courage was needed to believe in myself and my vision for the Project.

My advice to others is to take the initiative to make the world a better place. The world needs you and the solutions that you bring to the table. I believe that creating a vision board for your project will help you always keep in perspective where you want the project to go.

What is the number one obstacle or challenge you are currently facing and what are you doing to try to resolve or overcome this challenge?

One challenge that I face is time management. As a dentist and orthodontic resident, my days are spent learning in class or taking care of patients in the clinic. Dedicated time to advancing the Pristine Pearls Project in achieving its vision is restricted and with each jewelry piece being crafted by hand, it is often time-consuming. To overcome this challenge, I set weekly goals that allow me to stay on track for what I want Pristine Pearls Project to accomplish in the long-term. I am also grateful to the Pristine Pearls Project team, each are knowledgable in their own fields and I can rely on them to improve and expand the project with me.