INTHEBLACK Mental Health 2021 - Magazine - Page 20
Mental Health and Resilience
W O R K S M A R T // P R O F I L E
WELLBEING BY
NUMBERS
A P ERS ONA L UPHEAVAL PRO MPTED KATHRYN WO NG C PA
TO TA K E A STEP BAC K FRO M TH E LO NG H O U RS AT A
DES K A ND FREQU ENT OVERWO R K ASSO C IATED WITH TH E
L I F E OF A BUSY FINANC E PRO FESSIO NAL. SH E NOW
S HA RES L ES S ONS LEAR NED FRO M H ER CAR EER B R EAK
WITH THE C O R PO R ATE WO R LD.
STORY CAROLINE ZIELINSKI
W
hen Kathryn Wong CPA graduated
with a bachelor of commerce
degree in 1998, little did she know
that, 13 years later, she would be working as a
nutritionist with the same types of people she
once managed as an accountant.
In 2011, the Malaysian national had been
working in Shanghai for seven years and was
making plans to move back home.
It was then that Wong received devastating
news that shook her to the core – her father
had been diagnosed with late-stage lung
cancer.
“In the end, he passed away within two
months of the diagnosis. It was really unusual
how fast he progressed,” she recalls.
Her father’s sudden, devastating death
made Wong reconsider her career trajectory
in finance and the lifestyle that often
accompanies it – the long hours sitting at a
desk, the frequently unhealthy food choices
and the culture of overwork.
20 ITB October 2021
“I had all these questions about what led to
cancer, and I slowly realised that prevention is
better than cure,” she says.
Wong’s research into disease prevention
helped her understand the role of good
nutrition and the importance of developing
healthy habits, as well as the effect stress can
have on mental and physical wellbeing.
“With support from my husband, I decided
to take a career break and dedicate more time
to understanding the benefits of healthy
eating when it comes to living our best lives.”
READY CLIENT BASE
This is when Wong began the second phase of
her professional life.
She enrolled in nutrition courses and began
to share her new-found knowledge with as
many people as possible, advising family,
friends and colleagues about how eating well
and living more mindfully could help with
conditions such as weight problems, digestion
issues, hypertension, diabetes and high
cholesterol, among others.
“I gained so much practical experience from
the coaching and saw first-hand how nutrition
and healthy eating as part of a holistic
approach could help improve the health of my
clients tremendously,” Wong says.
“The results made me even more passionate
about sharing nutrition and healthy eating
information through talks, activities, group
retreat camps and more.”
It also emerged that the skills Wong gained
while working as a consultant in risk
management and advisory roles at companies
such as KPMG Shanghai opened up access to
a new client base: management and senior
personnel in the corporate world.
“I had always been client-facing, and had
to apply project management and other
professional skills to both assist existing clients
and win new ones, so I found that when I
transitioned into my new career, I was able to