SMU welcomed its 16th cohort of 1960 freshmen at the Convocation Ceremony on 14 August 2015. Some of our first-year students share their reasons for joining SMU, their past achievements, and their aspirations.

Venezia Wee

School of Law

[Caption: Venezia Wee, Founder of Global Water-Crisis Awareness International Movement, shared about the importance of water conservation with senior officials from the Shanghai Municipal Government and the Shanghai Education Bureau at the International Education Expo in Shanghai, China.]

After 18 years living and studying in the city of Shanghai in China, Venezia decided to return to the country of her birth – Singapore. “Although I have a Singaporean upbringing in my family, I have been an International Baccalaureate (IB) student in China since primary school, and have spent my formative years there. While I recognise how this dual identity enriches me with cross-cultural experiences, I think it is time for me to learn more about my roots by returning home, something that I have not been able to do so for the last 18 years. I really look forward to experience how it is like to engage actively and learn in Singapore!”

At the tender age of 14, Venezia founded a non-governmental organisation called Global Water-Crisis Awareness International Movement. This initiative evolved from her class workshop to raise awareness of the water crisis, which she then developed into her IB-MYP (International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme) graduating project. After six months of research, she put up a 5-day Global Water-Crisis Awareness (GWA) exhibition to her school community. Her school principal lent her full support to spearhead new water conservation measures and best practices within the school premises. Her school was later nominated by the Shanghai Water Authority and the Shanghai Education Bureau as one of only two water conservation role model schools in Shanghai. Venezia then expanded her project into the GWA International Movement to reach out to like-minded regional partners through seminars and other activities.

On why she decided to study Law at SMU, Venezia shared, “I believe studying law will stretch my mental capacity and give me a better understanding of the world around me.  This makes me feel empowered.”

Venezia looks forward to partaking in SMU’s Pro Bono Group to inspire more law students to contribute to society.

Daniel Nur Hakim Ismail

School of Accountancy

[Caption: Daniel received the Anugerah Mendaki award in 2013 for topping his cohort in the GCE O-level category. He is seen here sharing the joy of receiving the award with his mother.]

Although he was afflicted with different medical conditions during his secondary school and junior college studies, the fighter in Daniel Nur Hakim Ismail did not allow the vagaries of life to impede his progress in and enjoyment of life.

Besides doing well in his studies, Daniel was involved in several projects to raise funds for the Tana River Life Foundation in Kenya.

Daniel cited the flexibility that SMU offers its students to take up a second major or a second degree, the seminar-style teaching, preparing its students for working life such as the Finishing Touch Workshop, and the opportunities to interact with students from SMU’s wide network of partner universities as the reasons for why he joined SMU.

On his choice of taking up Accountancy, Daniel shared that an Accounting degree holder has the flexibility to move to different sectors of the economy, offers many employment opportunities, and is aligned with his love for numbers. “I wish to use the knowledge gained to reach out and help those who require assistance in managing their healthcare or other expenses,” he said.

“At the end of the day, I hope to emerge from SMU as a graduate who is not only filled with knowledge but with the passion to help others. Like Benjamin Franklin mentioned before, service to humanity is the great aim and end of all learning.”

Kong Yu Jian

School of Information Systems

[Caption: Yu Jian (centre) and his elder brother Yu Ning (right) are currently students at School of Information Systems (SIS). His younger brother Yu Jie (left) will also join SIS after his National Service.]

Yu Jian has already done SMU proud even before he entered the hallowed halls of the university. In 2014, Yu Jian and another SIS student and an incoming SIS student, clinched the top prize in the Code::XtremeApps::2014 competition jointly organised by the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore and the Information Technology Standards Committee.

Yu Jian chose SMU because, “the combination of SMU's approach in making us ‘A Different U’ and SIS's learning pedagogy of ‘Learning to Learn’ are aligned with my personal beliefs. I firmly believe in the need of possessing the skills and correct learning attitude which are instrumental in moulding us into great men and women of the future.

“Information technology has been a burning passion for me since my junior college days. I realised the many areas where IT can play a part in to create a better world for mankind. IT is now the cornerstone of many of the great inventions in our world. My personal goal is to engineer great products in the future that are used by many for the betterment of our lives.”

In his spare time, Yu Jian likes to write computer/mobile games. He released a 3D puzzle game called Rollicking on Google Play in Feb 2015. So far, there have been over 12,000 downloads on Slide Me market, and more than 6,000 downloads in Google Play.

Chin Chan Kai

Lee Kong Chian School of Business

[Caption: Chan Kai (left), a double degree student at SMU, started The Marketplace Ministry with fellow school-mate Ryan Goh (right) shortly after junior college.]

Chan Kai will be pursuing a double degree programme in business management at the Lee Kong Chian School of Business and accountancy at the School of Accountancy.

Chan Kai, a Science student and a self-taught graphic designer, founded The Marketplace Ministry with fellow school-mate and business partner, Ryan Goh (who joined SMU’s School of Law this year).  The Marketplace Ministry began as a platform where he puts up for sale items he designed, but has, from this year, grown into a platform for a community of graphic designers to put up their self-designed merchandises for sale. The Marketplace Ministry, which is registering healthy profits, currently has a community of 50 designers from Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and The Philippines. Chan Kai and Ryan plan to grow the platform in the App space and are currently pitching for more funding.

On why he has chosen to study business in SMU, Chan Kai shared that besides the wish to acquire more business management skills to grow his ventures, he also hopes to be able to meet more people and expand his network through the many opportunities available at SMU.

Lee Ci En

School of Social Sciences

[Caption: Ci En (in red cap) with students at a local orphanage in Siam Reap, Cambodia. He participated in the 2011 Service Learning and Development Trip for CCA leaders organized by his secondary school, where he interacted with the students through games, activities and taught them simple English words.]

Ci En has never allowed himself to be limited by his physical condition. The cheerful and optimistic individual was very active in CCAs, and has been active in community service since he was 13, including community service projects overseas in Indonesia and Cambodia.

He is currently a member of Youth Corps Singapore, the first national apex youth programme that encourages youths to volunteer and embark on service learning projects in the community He plays an ambassadorial role in which he gets opportunities to work at youth events to advocate for the Youth Corps and encourage others to take part in the community work that they do. He has been selected to be part of the Youth Corps Leaders Programme. In March this year, Ci En was part of the core organising team of Youth Corps volunteers who helped the thousands waiting in line to pay their final respects to the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew. As a volunteer leader, he coordinated the collection of resources such as water, umbrellas and food from supporting organisations.

Ci En chose SMU because of its vibrant school culture, unique pedagogy, preparing its students well for the working world, internship opportunities, and its focus on community service.

“What I really hope and aim to accomplish at SMU is to grow as a person - to know myself better, to have a stronger sense of who I want to be, and to develop greater empathy for people from different backgrounds. I also hope to find like-minded people to collaborate to meet the needs of our society, with a possible end goal of starting a Social Enterprise and Foundation,” he added.

Shane Phung

School of Economics

[Caption: Shane chose SMU because of the highly relevant and applicable curriculum and the opportunities for global exposure.]

Shane is a recipient of the Lee Kong Chian Scholarship administered by SMU. She will be taking up double degree programme in Economics at School of Economics, and Business Management at Lee Kong Chian School of Business.

On her decision to join SMU, Shane said, “The modules offered by SMU means that what I've studied will have a high relevance and applicability to the world around me when I graduate.  Secondly, SMU is partnered with more than 200 universities worldwide, coupled with the relatively small cohort size each year, it means that every student has the opportunity of an overseas exchange during one's course of study. I feel that this is especially crucial in broadening one's horizons and exposure to the world we live in, and to develop a global mindset.”

Shane was with the National Sailing Team from 2011 to 2012. Besides being active in sports, she had also previously volunteered at the Singapore Association for the Visually Handicapped where she edited story books and dictated exam papers to a programme which converts words into Braille. These materials would eventually be printed in Braille and used as teaching materials for the students in SAVH. She also helped out with the Get Kids Afloat programme run by the SAF Yacht Club where she taught children how to sail, as well as SMU’s Sailability programme to help the handicapped to sail. While in JC, she also helped conduct a book donation drive under the Maldives Overseas Values-in-Action programme. She aims to introduce this programme to SMU.