Alfonso Yuji Abeleda Cortez is a Filipino twenty-year-old, born in Japan, and raised in Singapore.A humanities student at Nanyang Technological University who graduated from Catholic Junior College, Cortez is also an experienced classical chorister and a budding abstract artist, despite not having prior formal education in music or art.As a classical chorister, Cortez currently sings as a member of the Singapore Symphony Youth Choir. He has previously sung with the Montfort Junior School Choir, the Singapore Symphony Children’s Choir, the St. Gabriel’s Vocal Ensemble, and the Catholic Junior College Choir.Cortez began publicising his creative works in 2020, with his entry of CJConvergence into CJC’s inaugural art competition. In 2021, he delved into the world of performance art, with his philosophical piece, Artem Quae Exercetur (A Theory of Art) being featured at CJC’s inaugural Litera Literature Festival.Cortez also wrote a notable essay on political ideology’s effect on public policy, winning him the CJC Philosophy Top Prize in 2021. He maintains a public artist’s portfolio on his @artsyalfonso Instagram page and a politics & philosophy blog, Alfonso’s Annotations. A strong advocate of his personal philosophy of Carpe Diem (or Seizing the Day), as featured on his personal Instagram page @yujicortez, Cortez is in the process of writing a book on his philosophical perspectives.From 2020 to 2023, Cortez was active in the Model United Nations (MUN) circuit, participating in over twenty conferences, and receiving several awards for his work. Following senior secretarial stints at MUNs such as Manila MUN (Comms) and NTUMUN (Delegate Affairs), Cortez announced his ‘retire-MUN’ from the MUN circuit in March 2023. In 2022, Cortez worked as a Communications Intern at sustainability consultancy firm Ramboll for a four-month period.During the summer of 2023, Cortez embarked on a exchange trip to Berlin, Germany, where he studied Germany history and politics under National Socialism at Humboldt University.From the later part of 2023, Cortez will be heading a reform of the Current Affairs Society at NTU, making it a more vibrant contributor to political awareness and engagement on campus. Cortez is currently pursuing a BA in Philosophy at Nanyang Technology University, with a second major in Public Policy and Global Affairs.