New Hires: Welcome Jacob and Kiki

Tell us a little about yourself and where you’re from.

Jacob: Hi, I’m Jacob. I am a Sales Development Representative here at Community Boost. I’m originally from North Orange County. Came to school down here in San Diego, and I have no intention of leaving San Diego anytime soon.

Kiki: Hi, I’m Kiki Asuncion. I’m from Los Angeles. I’m an Associate Digital Specialist. I went to Boston University and I am now in San Diego.

What made you choose Community Boost?

Jacob: At the time I was really interested in pursuing a career in sales, but I always knew that I could only do sales if I really believed in what I was selling. I came across Community Boost and I just thought that it was a great middle-ground of what I was looking for. Working with nonprofit organizations across the board who are existing to really serve a higher purpose is something that I really thought, “Oh, this is something that I could get behind.” So the opportunity arose, and I’ve been happy ever since.

Kiki: I came to Community Boost because I wanted to make a positive impact with how I was making a living and we have an opportunity here to really affect a wide variety of nonprofits and have a positive impact on the communities that are being served by the nonprofit partners that we work with.

What have you learned so far at Community Boost?

Jacob: I’ve learned, especially in my role of talking to nonprofits on a daily basis, that there really is a nonprofit for anything you could ever possibly imagine. That’s really what I’ve learned is not just how many nonprofits there are, but how many needs are being met in our country by these nonprofit organizations—some that are super large, some that are super small, some that work on a national level, some that work in a more local level. I think my eyes have just really been opened to the extent that nonprofits help our community.

Kiki: I’ve learned that there’s just a true depth to the digital tools that nonprofits have access to now. You can get started really easily, but becoming an expert in these tools like Facebook and Google Ad Grants takes time and a lot of curiosity. So I’m really looking forward to meeting that expert level.

What is one thing you’re passionate about?

Jacob: In college, I had experienced working with the homeless population and I think any organization that is meeting the need of the homeless community, whether that’s through food distribution or shelter relief, just in my experience is really understanding that each individual has a story behind who they are and where they’re at and they have so much to offer. Really any sort of organization that exists to provide relief for the homeless community is one that I am really aligned with and love. 

Kiki: More of a broad answer, but mental health awareness is really important to me. Making sure that people have the resources and understand that there’s a community that wants to support and help change their circumstances, no matter what those may be since it is such a broad range of topics. So, just in general mental health awareness.

What is your favorite Core Value of Community Boost?

Jacob: Do we have the same one?

Kiki: Yeah we do.

Jacob: Ok, cool. Do you want me to change?

Kiki: No. Okay. Let’s see. Same time?

Jacob: This doesn’t need an extra take, we’re going to nail it the first time. One, two, three…

Together: We are transparent. 

Jacob: We were so close. But yeah, we nailed it. I just think if you look around our world right now, one huge aspect that is missing is transparency. I feel like transparency is what builds trust and out of trust flows everything else. Being a part of an organization at Community Boost where we really do value transparency, and you can be fully you in your work setting is something that I’ve really grown to value and appreciate from my time here at Community Boost.

Kiki: Yeah, and just building off of that. Being transparent means that you’re connecting with the reality of the situation, whether it’s from colleague to colleague or as a business. I feel like I can connect with the true person and the true company in a way that maybe before it was behind closed doors at other companies, and now it’s just, I’m here, and I know where I stand and I know where the company and other people stand.

What is your favorite part about working at Community Boost?

Jacob: Part of it is knowing who we serve and who we’re helping, but also just being a part of something that’s bigger than maybe just my individual role in sales. Just knowing where our company is headed and where our goals lie. You really do get the sense of being a part of Community Boost that you’re not just a number, you’re not just an employee. You’re really a part of something that is going to only grow and increase in impact. 

Kiki: I do have a lot of amazing coworkers and we are remote right now. So the fact that there’s still a culture of support and really rallying together to serve these nonprofits and their communities, makes me feel really hopeful about long-term goals and the future. I’m really excited to just be in this environment.

What is something people don’t know about you or do you have any hidden talents?

Jacob: Yeah so no hidden talents whatsoever. Literally none. Yeah, no talents. At all. Known or hidden. One thing that people don’t know about me, for the most part, is that I wore headgear in junior high and people don’t know that cause I kept it a secret. As you can imagine why I did that, but it was only at night. Like I only had to wear it at night. Secret’s out. No photos, no evidence!

Kiki: Something that people don’t know about me. I had a stutter growing up. Yup. So I grew out of it. Thank God. But yeah, I had to go through speech therapy and everything. And to everybody out there, you can get through headgear and stutters. You can join Community Boost.

Jacob: Look at you now! And now you’re delivering a grade-A interview. Success stories.

If you could go anywhere, where would you go?

Kiki: Well, I just got back from New Zealand in October, so I’d love to go back when it’s not a pandemic. And then I also want to go to Argentina and Austria just to travel around.

Jacob: I’d love to go to Indonesia. I love the ocean. I love surfing and just the remote nature and the amount of islands and the waves that are there. Oh, man. I’m getting excited just thinking. So yeah, I’d love to be able to visit over there at some point. 

If you could only eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be?

Kiki: Probably potatoes in any form, like anything.

Jacob: That’s a good call. It’s a diverse food. I was thinking similarly I’d probably eat pizza every day. Pizza is just so good. I don’t think I would ever get tired of it. I could have that every day.

Bone-in or Boneless Wings?

Kiki: I don’t want to get bullied online for this. It’s more economical for boneless. I’m sorry. It is.

Jacob: Oh, man. I thought we were having a great interview. We were vibing. Yeah. bone-in. To be honest, I don’t even feel like an explanation is warranted. It’s the way that it was meant to be. More flavor. More of a process. To become more familiarized with the food. You’re more primal eating it off the bone. The list goes on and on, but I’m just going to stop right there and say bone-in.

James Hall