Edwin Dominguez Alvarez

Please describe your position and what you enjoy most about it.

As the head of the Public Affairs Division at the Embassy of the Dominican Republic in Korea, I have the responsibility to coordinate our direct interactions with the Korean public. This is mainly achieved through public cultural events in which we aim to promote the brand of the Dominican Republic.

What I enjoy the most about the position is being able to show the best value of the Dominican people to our friends here in Korea and make my small contribution to bringing wellbeing to both nations.

What aspects of your HLGU experience helped you prepare for your career?

The one aspect that stands out the most was being part of HLGU’s baseball. That experience helped me improve my leadership, teamwork, communication skills, and most importantly, I learned the importance of placing a greater value on the process and preparation, rather than just focusing on the results.

What have you enjoyed most about your career?

Serving as a foreign service officer for the Dominican Republic is a great honor and privilege. As an international student, I took pride in always sharing the best traits of my culture with my fellow classmates, faculty members, and all the people I came across. Now I have the opportunity to do this at a much bigger scale, in a professional setting.

Have you or are you currently continuing your education? If so, please list the institution(s) and degree(s) you earned or are working toward.

After getting my Bachelor’s at HLGU, I was able to get a Master of Economics at Soka University, in Japan. These days I’m working on getting a Master in Development Policy from the Korea Development Institute. I expect to finish this program in 2023.

How did HLGU shape you as a person?

During my days at HLGU, surrounded by all the caring and a Christ-centered education and environment, I was able to become a more humble individual. I also was encouraged by my professors and baseball coaches to be more outspoken and gain confidence in my skills, which have served me enormously in my personal and professional life after I moved on from Hannibal.

Please share a specific example from your career or life when the skills you gained at HLGU helped you most.

Every time I have to make a public presentation or speak in front of an audience, I always remind myself of the techniques that I learned through my studies at HLGU, which have worked for me remarkably well until these days.

What professional accomplishment are you most proud of?

I’m very humbled and proud of knowing that the work we do here helps my country gain better recognition in Korea, which eventually translates into a higher level of exchange between both countries and brings further development for our people.

What HLGU professors played a part in your success? How did your relationship with faculty help you succeed?

I would love to list them all, to be honest. They all contributed to my personal and professional development. I do want to make a special mention to the Faculty of Business Administration, including Dr. John Schafer, Mrs. Mary Burkett, and Mr. Jerry Allen.

Additionally, I want to recognize the role in my personal development of my HLGU baseball coaches, Coach Biggs, Coach Murphy, and Coach Sartin.

Please list any scholarships, honors, or awards you received as an undergraduate or graduate.

I was honored to receive a baseball scholarship while attending HLGU. I was blessed enough to give some of it back to the school in the form of being awarded AMC Academic All-Conference in 2014-15 and AMC Baseball First Team All-Conference as a Designated-Hitter in 2014-15, as well.

Do you have any tips to share with students interested in this field?

Always be open to meeting new people and make yourself available as much as you can possibly handle; you never know who will be that one person that will open the next door to further growth in your career. Or perhaps, you are the one that is in a position to help someone else at any given point; this usually returns back to you in a positive way.

What are some of your favorite HLGU memories?

I love thinking about the long study hours at the lobby of Nunn Cook, before the finals exam.

Also, the long road trips with the baseball team. I actually strengthen my reading habits in those bus rides; I bought a reading light back then (which I still use), so I could attach it to my books during the overnight bus rides and make the most out of those hours. I think that helped me better concentrate and prepare for the baseball games, too.

What on-campus activities were you involved in at HLGU?

I was part of the baseball team. Go Trojans!

HLGU’s motto is “knowledge for service.” What roles have these values played in your life?

Those words have played a very important role in my life and career’s growth; as a government official, I genuinely believe that our utmost duty is to serve our citizens in our best capacity. That’s why it is crucial to always continue to further our knowledge base, so we can serve more people, in a more efficient manner.

What is one thing you know now that you wish you’d known when you started in the field?

I’m still relatively early in my career, so I’m learning new things every day, and excited about it! No regrets until this point.

I want to thank the HLGU’s Alumni Office for giving me the opportunity to share a bit of my story. Thanks to you too for reading all the way through here. Many blessings and feel free to contact me at any point.

 

Edwin is active on LinkedIn – find him at https://www.linkedin.com/in/edwin-dom%C3%ADnguez-97ba5888/