How Has Jessica Ramella Been After Winning The Apprentice: ONE Championship Edition?

“There is no such thing as a dull day. Every day is different,” says 32-year-old Jessica Ramella, the winner of the inaugural season of The Apprentice: ONE Championship Edition, when asked how it has been like working as Chief of Staff at ONE Championship. It has been over a year since the show aired and Jessica has only soared to even greater heights since then. Appearing in an Instagram Live with JobStreet Singapore, Jessica shares about her experience working for ONE Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong, reflects on her goals and achievements, and dispenses advice on how to stay motivated.

Life with ONE Championship and Chatri Sityodtong

The question that was on everyone’s mind when the Instagram Live started was “How has it been working for ONE Championship and Chatri Sityodtong?”

Jessica describes ONE Championship as high stakes and fast paced, with a strong “start-up” feel where all hands are on deck. She speaks highly of her colleagues around her, whom she calls brilliant minds and amazing people to work with. As for Chatri, Jessica says that she has been incredibly honoured to be learning from him. She has been shadowing him, to understand how to eventually become him.

Jessica’s admiration of Chatri started when she first learnt about ONE Championship’sThe Apprentice. Jessica had been on her lunch break one day when she received a text message from a friend who heard thatThe Apprenticewas casting for the show. Her friend encouraged Jessica to apply for the show and Jessica had initially been doubtful. She looked up the show and on the application page, it said “The Apprentice: ONE Championship Edition, the toughestThe Apprenticein history”. After reading that, she immediately texted her friend back, “Hahaha no way am I going to appear in reality TV, especially a show that describes itself as ‘the toughest [anything] in history’”.

Yet, that evening when Jessica got home, she started doing research on ONE Championship, their CEO Chatri Sityodtong, the show, and what they were planning on doing. That was when she realised there were many similarities between Chatri’s life and her own. They both left their country in a time of crisis, both their fathers left home when they were 18 and 20, they had to take on the responsibility of caring for their mothers, and they came from countries—Venezuela and Thailand—that did not have English as their primary language.

Back then, Jessica did not have a mentor in life, and she thought, “Why not get a mentor who understands my journey and the struggles I went through?” It was too much of a coincidence and Jessica made the decision to apply forThe Apprentice. Over a year later, Jessica is now its first ever winner and protégé to Chatri.

Since she started at ONE Championship, Jessica says that her role has changed a lot. The Chief of Staff to Chatri is mainly assigned to special projects that Chatri would like them to look after when he has to focus on other things. Over this past year, Jessica has been in three different projects, and starting on her fourth one, which she says is a big and exciting one.

“Every couple of months has been really new,” Jessica says about her time at ONE Championship. “I’ve gotten to work with different teams like commercial, e-commerce, and planning and organisation. There have been a lot of different aspects of the role, and I couldn’t ask for more. It means that I get to exercise different muscles that I might not be as used to exercising and I get to learn on the job. It’s pretty good.”

Checking in with Her Goals and Achievements

When asked if she had set up any goals or targets for herself, Jessica shared that starting this year, she wanted to take the training wheels off and feel more independent in her role. She wanted to feel like she was giving value to her team rather than constantly asking questions behind the scenes.

One of the key things Jessica wanted to focus on was understanding the sport better, as ONE Championship is a combat sports media property. She did not know a lot about martial arts when she joined and was working hard to understand it. While Jessica claims that she is still miles away from fully understanding the sport, she feels like she has improved since she first started. She has become a fan of the sport and their athletes, and even knows a few of them personally and fangirls over them.

At the same time, Jessica wanted to develop a bond with her colleagues that was more than “Jessica fromThe Apprentice” and just “Jessica” so that they would come to trust her and her skills. Gradually, she feels like she has started to phase outThe Apprenticetitle and become just Jessica. There are still many people in the company she has yet to meet, but she believes that little by little she can break down some walls and understand more people, what they do, and how she can help them. “So far, I have a good group of people that I feel like if I have a question, a problem, or whatever it is, I can reach out and someone can give me an answer or point me in the right direction. There are people I can rely on, and it also works the other way around,” Jessica says.

Jessica has also been cautious about losing herself in her work for ONE. Once, she found herself still at work at 11pm because she was so focused on completing her tasks. To maintain a healthy balance between work and life, she decided to establish some hobbies. She works out three to four times a week and attends French classes on the weekends.

When asked how she has been doing with meeting her goals, Jessica sheepishly admits that she was doing phenomenal in terms of exercise at the beginning of the year but hit a wall in the past two months. “I’ve promised myself that I’m going to start again next Monday, and I promise it. I said it here in front of everyone so now I need to keep it!” she says laughingly.

Keeping the Fire Going

“How do you stay motivated?” asks one of the viewers on Instagram.

It is a misconception, Jessica thinks, that when people see someone who is motivated, they think that the person does not lack motivation. However, it is actually the opposite. “I ask myself all the time, ‘How am I going to find the motivation to do this?’” she says. It is understandable—everyone goes through the ups and downs of motivation.

When you feel demotivated, Jessica advises that it is best to have a routine to rely on. You should find what works for you. For example, Jessica finds that she works better in the morning when her mind is clear, and she is more focused. She finds the motivation to clear the many tasks she needs to complete then. If she includes meditation or removes her phone and puts it in another room, she can power through a lot of things.

As for what keeps her motivated in life, Jessica says that it is the hunger for her future and her dreams. She talked about the “fire in her stomach” when she was onThe Apprentice,and she says it is about keeping that fire alive and keeping the pep in her step. She keeps going for the future she wants, the future her mother deserves, and for the purpose of making a difference in the world.

“I would love to be able to lead this life and say, ‘You know what? I ate well, I loved a lot, I travelled a ton, and I made a difference,’” Jessica says. At the end of the day, regardless of how far she goes, it all comes back to this for her. The secret to finding the motivation to keep going is to envision the path that lays ahead of you, and then your feet will walk that path.

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