SMU welcomed its 15th cohort of 1,940 freshmen at the Convocation Ceremony on 13 August 2014. Sharing their reasons for joining SMU, their past achievements, and their aspirations, here are some first-hand remarks from a few of our first-year students. 

Clarence Ngoh Peng Yu

School of Information Systems

A MOH Holdings scholar, Clarence spoke on his choice of SMU, “I was attracted by its teaching style and curriculum, as well as its focus on developing the ‘soft skills’ like presentation skills and business acumen.”

His interest in information systems stems from his desire to learn how to talk to machines and to use them to make life better.

Earlier this month, Clarence and two other School of Information Systems students (who will be joining SMU in 2015) clinched the top prize in the code::XtremeApps::2014 Hackathon organised by the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore and the Information Technology Standards Committee.

Since 2010, Clarence has been an active member of nEbO, the youth wing of the NTUC labour movement where he regularly organises programmes to engage a wide range of beneficiaries, from the elderly to needy families to youth. In recognition of his outstanding contribution, Clarence was nominated for the nEbO Excel Award. He was also invited to speak in the 2014 May Day Rally, the key yearly event of NTUC, which attracted some 1000 people, and had Prime Minister Lee Hsieng Loong as the Guest-of-Honour.

“At SMU, beyond doing well academically, I hope to continue to be active in volunteer work, initiate new programmes and encourage my peers to join. I also hope to participate in more competitions, create apps, and to take charge of at least one school event.”

Bryan Halim

School of Accountancy

“I chose SMU as it is conveniently located in the city centre. Furthermore, SMU's emphasis on grooming students who are articulate and confident is what gives SMU graduates a cutting edge above other University graduates.

“At SMU, I hope to widen my social network by making new friends and seize opportunities to interact with business professionals and gain insights of their industries. I also hope to gain global experience by going for overseas exchange missions.”

Singing is one of the SMU Scholar’s passions. Bryan has always been active in the choir. In secondary school, Bryan was the Vice chairman and student conductor of the choir. In JC, he was the bass section leader of the choir. He had won awards in the Singapore Youth Festival and also had the opportunity to travel to countries like Venice and Russia to take part in competitions.

Bryan puts his talent to good use. He has volunteered at the Chen Su Lan Methodist home for under-privileged children, entertaining them by singing them songs in addition to coaching them in their academic work in subjects such as math and science.

In his free time, the 20-year old enjoys cooking and baking. He finds sharing his home-made bakes with friends and family is more satisfying and gratifying than ordering cakes from a restaurant or cafe.

Bryan hopes to gain experience in the finance and business industries and tap on these experiences to start his own cafés.

Bong Jun Hao

School of Information Systems

“I chose SMU because of its interactive pedagogy which I feel stimulates deeper thinking and encourages higher quality learning. In my view, this style of learning would help me become more confident and ready to face the working world. I also like the many opportunities to go overseas, be it for student exchanges, internships or community service projects which I feel would help me look at things more holistically from different angles. Lastly, I like the many programmes in place, from networking sessions with prospective employers to career counselling and job matching, to help students gain a headstart in their careers when they graduate,” said Jun Hao.

A recipient of the National Infocomm Scholarship from IDA, Jun Hao has always believed that there is a deep inherent link between IT and businesses. “Today, how a company thinks and operates is heavily influenced and affected by its information processing and IT infrastructure. Hence, I chose to study at School of Information Systems because I like how it integrates Information Technology with Business, which I feel would give me a strong advantage as I will be able to better appreciate, comprehend and integrate the two different fields.”

On what he hopes to accomplish at SMU, Jun Hao said “I hope to have a vibrant and balanced school life where grades are not just everything. I hope to take up a leadership role in school, such as being in the organising committee for next year's Freshmen Orientation or being part of the management committee of a student club.  I would also like to take part in various activities and contribute back to the community, be it spring cleaning the homes of the elderly or visiting hospitals and spending time with the patients there. I also hope to be able to go on an overseas community service project next year!”

Xu Leyi

School of Economics

Leyi joins SMU School of Economics from NUS High School. “I especially like the seminar-style pedagogy at SMU, which allows for discussion and interaction, thereby stimulating ideas creation and exchange within the classroom. SMU also offers an unparalleled flexibility of a double degree or a second major, thereby providing the opportunity to expose myself to a wide body of knowledge.”

A SMU Scholar, Leyi decided to study economics because of “the wide-ranging effects it has on societies. Studying economics allows me to achieve a greater understanding of the way markets and government policies influence our lives.”

Leyi was with the NUS High School Choir and Chinese Orchestra. Besides music, Leyi is interested in neuroscience, and took part in the Singapore Brain Bee Challenge 2013, a national competition organised by Society for Neuroscience and Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, in which she came in third.

Leyi has been volunteering at the Institute of Mental Health since July 2013. She chose to volunteer at IMH because she felt that the lack of understanding of mental illnesses have caused many people to stigmatize patients, creating an impediment to their recovery. Though her understanding of the underlying neurological dysfunction for some of the patients is limited, the knowledge still allowed her to empathise with their condition, and helped make her interaction with them more meaningful.

Through her studies at SMU, Leyi “hopes to become a more well-informed, critical thinker, with a greater understanding of people.”

Cheryl Lim Xin Jing

School of Social Sciences

Cheryl is a national swimmer and has represented Singapore in many swimming competitions, such as the SEA Games in 2009, 2011 and 2013, and the inaugural Youth Olympic Games in 2010. Cheryl’s best performance was in 2009 when she clocked 2:34.73 and won Silver in the Women’s 200m Breaststroke at the SEA Games in Laos.

Cheryl is embarking on a journey to pursue a degree in Social Science and has shared that she is very interested in Psychology as she is fascinated by “understanding how humans work and why they do what they do”. She hopes to take up Psychology as a career in future.

“I would say that the atmosphere or collegiality in SMU as compared to other schools is rather different. You can sense the camaraderie between everyone and they give off a very positive, can-do vibe of a close-knit community that I really enjoy,” said Cheryl. 

“At SMU, I hope that I would be able to discover another side of myself that I never knew I had in me. Whether it's academic-wise or swimming-related or just social life in general. I also hope that I'll make some friends that I know I will keep for life.”

Clement Lim Hao Yang

Lee Kong Chian School of Business

“I chose SMU because I believe it’s the university that I can best develop myself in areas such as leadership and soft skills. The SMU experience I’m looking forward to would be the overseas exchange. Being able to go overseas to immerse myself in foreign cultures would definitely be both thrilling and educational.”

Clement (back row standing on extreme right in photo), who has been sailing since his primary school days, represented SMU at the 2nd Pan Pacific University Invitational Regatta in Xiamen, China in early August, even before he has formally become a SMU student. He aims to qualify and attain a podium finish at the upcoming World University Games in 2016.

On his decision to pursue double degrees, Clement said, “I plan to enter the finance sector in future, so I was wondering whether to take up business or accountancy. When I heard that SMU offers double degree programmes, I was ecstatic as it enables me to have the best of both worlds and also I wanted to challenge myself.

Jason Chua Dong Wei

School of Law

Jason had his ups and downs in his studies, but with perseverance and a positive attitude, he managed to overcome the odds to excel in the GCE A Levels examinations.

“I chose SMU because I’ve read that SMU is an institution that develops a person holistically, it's more than just studies and grades. I believe this will give me an edge in future when I'm out in the working world where employers look beyond the grades of the job applicants. SMU fits that bill for me.”

On why he chose to study law, Jason shared, ““The chief reason is because I feel that it is the most direct way to help the less fortunate. I recalled watching a documentary on how Indian migrant workers who were injured at work were left in a limbo when their errant bosses failed to compensate them for their injuries. The migrant workers explained that they could not go back to their home country as they had borrowed huge sums of money to pay agents in order to work in Singapore, and these money need to be repaid. They also explained that legal help was too expensive for them. I want to be able to offer help to people because I was once lost in my life and I know that fear can be very scary.”

Jason has been volunteering at Dover Hospice since 2008. He said “while I am not able to add days to their lives, I hope to add life to their days.” He also volunteers at the Rochor Kongsi Home for the Aged. He hopes to inspire and encourage his fellow course-mates to take their first step because many youths are apprehensive when it comes to helping the elderly.

[Featured photo: Freshmen (from left) Bong Jun Hao and Clarence Ngoh from School of Information Systems, and Bryan Halim from School of Accountancy, are excited to embark on their academic journey at SMU]