#17. Calvin Widjaja and his Values, Passion and Purpose

Wantedly's SG60 stories series is about people who have been shaped by Singapore, and had made a difference in Singapore. This series aims to be a platform for individual reflection on what our own values are, and how we discover our passion and strive towards our purpose.

With our mission to create a world where work drives passion, no matter the industry you pursue, discovering and aligning your values, passion, and purpose will give you the best chance at having a fulfilling career, and more importantly, life. And when this alignment is in place it leads to something greater - organisations can achieve their mission, and your community and beyond will benefit in the long run.

Values are your non-negotiable foundation, passion is about what excites and motivates you, and purpose is your deeper reason for existence. - Harvard Business Review

As a nation, when we reflect on our shared values of multiculturalism, boldness, resilience and openness, we can build upon what drove our prosperity. SG60’s theme is a refreshed spirit, and by celebrating Singapore’s journey to date, Wantedly is proud to spotlight some of those who have contributed in their own unique ways in the past and for the future, wherever they may be at present.

Introducing Calvin

Calvin Karuniawan Widjaja is a dynamic cross-country business consultant with a multidisciplinary background in legal, education, sales, marketing, and product management. With a track record in BD across sectors like Edtech and Agritech, he currently serves as the Singapore Country Director of Selaras Pte. Ltd., to help expand foreign companies in their expansion effort to Indonesia and Singapore. Fluent in Indonesian, English, and conversant in Mandarin, he thrives in multicultural environments and created Global CKtizens, a livestream podcast which interviewed individuals who grew up internationally or those who feel foreign in their birth country. He has been featured in Culturs Magazine, Singapore Global Network, Families in Global Transition as a speaker and recently in the National Museum of Singapore exhibition, titled “Once Upon a Tide: Singapore’s Journey from Settlement to Global City”. Deeply connected to both Singapore and Indonesia—his "two homes"—Calvin embraces the symbolic identity of the Gryphon and the Second Son of Singapore, championing diversity, equity, and inclusion through purpose-driven, globally impactful projects.

Catch Calvin's video feature in the Once Upon a Tide exhibition for SG60 at the National Museum

In his own words

At 17, I dreamed of being like a real-life Captain America—a serviceman with a law degree who could bridge Singapore and Indonesia diplomatically. While I didn't accomplish the life path I planned, my work as a business consultant for foreign companies that wished to expand to Singapore and or Indonesia and intercultural contents fulfilled it to an extent.

1. What are your top 3 values? 

My first value is accountability which is something heavily ingrained into me by my late father. He will never want to profit of the misery of others, and I recall once when he paid a lot more than the agreed price on a land he acquired resulting in the existing mom-and-pop micro businesses who set up stalls there needing to exit the space, he actually took the time to visit each of them and compensated everyone personally to ensure that they are covered for a while. In life, you will make mistakes both intentionally and unintentionally but you have to ensure nobody else should bear the consequences but yourself. If someone did shoulder the burden with you, it’s not entitlement but a measure of your impact that needs to be treasured.

The second value is autonomy. I am someone who values structure and discipline but I need the freedom to be able to perform or execute something in the way that I see fit. While I see myself as a creatively-driven individual, a mentor actually pointed out that another layer I have is someone who is conservative. However if presented with suggestions, I am always open.

The third value is empathy and also compassion. Based on experience, I believe that the measure of a person is not how well you treat others in similar shoes but whether you can uplift others who are supposedly below your status.

2. What keeps you up at night? 

One of them is how to make interracial or intercultural communication and or interaction as something normal rather than exceptional. I can present several examples such as getting hurt by a girl who believed dating a Caucasian man was the ticket to a luxurious life or when a Western friend visited rural Indonesia, locals would request photos with them, assuming they were celebrities just because of their foreign appearance. From my understanding, it showed how limited exposure can shape perceptions and that is why in my podcast I insist it must be a live conversation shown in public to normalise that no ethnicities are special and that we all share some commonality. To the extent of my desired impact, I am of the view that it is better to try and fail than not trying. 

3. What is your proudest career accomplishment to date? 

It might seem insignificant, but I felt really accomplished when one of my interns actually regarded me as a mentor instead of just his manager. Back then, I was working at a branch of a public speaking school that was understaffed and another one of my colleagues needed to take a medical leave. I was assigned an intern who just graduated from Junior College and was waiting for his National Service enlistment. 

He showed plenty of potential, however being young and impulsive having just entered a working environment for the first time, he got into unnecessary troubles in the main office which was why he was reassigned to me. 

I was a little strict with him but I balanced my approach by giving him some appropriate leeway, and I advised him on the importance of presenting your best foot forward in a workplace and to be mindful of stakeholder relationships. Years later I got reacquainted with him and he complimented that I was the best mentor he ever had. I was always passionate about teaching, therefore this to me is a personal proudest career accomplishment!

Calvin was part of NYC's Youth Action Challenge before

4. What fills your cup? 

What fills my cup is seeing underdogs whom I have a genuine close relationship with succeed. One such "underdog" friend, whom I met during my National Service, was someone who grew up obese and lacked self-confidence. What I saw was that he was extremely passionate and naturally gifted to be in the hospitality industry. I was always encouraging him and when he received his acceptance letters from the prestigious Blue Mountain’s college in Australia and told me about it, I was over the moon for him. I knew his struggles before, and was heartened he would get a break such as this strong validation. To witness that was impactful, knowing something that mattered for him was going to change his life in a positive way.

5. In your current season, how do you stay positive? 

I might not be the best person to be asked to stay positive because I believe that instead of needing to be positive you have to embrace the negativity as your fuel as well. Two beliefs I used to focus my negative emotions on are by remembering that everything in life worth having comes with its own set of struggles and you need to do what needs to be done to get what you want, not to avoid and do what is easier. People tend to want to be avoidant or just stick to their comfort zone as it’s the one which would prevent you from getting hurt, but instead of running away, it’s actually better to try and fail to learn from your shortcomings, otherwise you get stagnant and complacent 

6. Please leave us your well wishes for SG60.

Throwback: When I first came to the country, I was an 11-year-old boy. I was fascinated by franchises, believe it or no, I never even heard of such as Burger King back then! Unfortunately BK is not as expansive today.

With touching down in Singapore for the first time a core memory for me, Changi Airport would always hold a special place in me and that feeling continues up to this day.

My well wishes for SG60 is for our beloved Lion City to continue to prosper and remain the haven she has always been.

I am reachable by my Linkedin and Instagram; and if you are looking for consultation or already decide to enter Indonesian market, you can also reach out to me calvin.sgid@gmail.com!  

Once again, in celebration of SG60, let us strive to be bolder and kinder to one another, wherever our travels take us.

This series was brought to you by Wantedly Hire - an application tracking system optimised for modern hiring practices. Experience seamless hiring with tailored workflows designed to align with your recruitment structure, automated interview scheduling, and actionable insights to optimise hiring performance!