Featured photo: L-R: Christopher Chew, Director of Office of Corporate Communications & Marketing; Chai Yee Xin, Research Librarian (Law Library); Elizabeth Naumczyk, Head of Law Library; Fern Long, Head of Education & Corporate Digital, Asia Pacific, The New York Times; Averill Chow, School of Law (SOL) student; Gulcin Cribb, University Librarian; and Yuyun Wirawati Ishak, Head (Information Services), Library.]

The New York Times Asia-Pacific Writing Competition is a writing competition organised annually by International New York Times (INYT). 2017's theme was on migration and SMU's law student Averill Chow Mingni won first prize in the tertiary category with her article on “New homes, better lives”.

The NYT Writing Competition began in 2009 in Hong Kong as part of NYT’s InEducation programme, which encourages students to engage with current affairs and become globally-minded by reading the daily newspaper. Since 2015, the competition has been expanded to include all of Asia and all entries are judged by NYT’s award-winning newsroom.

To celebrate her win, SMU Libraries hosted a tea reception on 3 May 2018.  

Fern Long, Head of Education & Corporate Digital, Asia Pacific, The New York Times, who was present to present the trophy, certificate and Amazon cash voucher to Averill said, "Singapore universities have always performed well in the NYT Asia Pacific Writing Competition, and we are very happy to see how our local universities' students are always so enthusiastic in participating in international competition. We would like to thank SMU for their continued support, and we hope to receive more entries from SMU this year."

According to Averill, the organisers had called for submissions responding to the question “Can people still achieve a better life through migration in 2017?”. Before writing her story, she thought about why people migrated, and why they chose to stay in their new country and decided that these people must still be able to achieve better lives through migration, otherwise why would they set up homes there? Her essay thus explores “how people can achieve better lives through migration, and because “better” is a subjective and personal judgment which we should all respect.”

When asked why she thought she did well in this competition, she said, “Since the topic was the same for everyone, it is probably my style of writing which is different from the other pieces. I focused on contemporary human stories that I thought readers would be interested in.” She credited her family and said, “I wouldn’t have been able to research and write this piece without my family’s support in ensuring that I get the best opportunities possible for a great education.”

On her future plans, Averill said she would definitely continue writing, as it is an excellent way of self-expression and communication. When she graduates with a double degree (law and accountancy) in May, she will embark on the preparatory course leading to Part B of the Singapore Bar Examinations.

Goh Yihan, Dean, School of Law said, “I am delighted that Averill has won the competition with a piece that truly touches on a topical issue that is important to her and to the world at large.”

University Librarian Gulcin Cribb, who is a strong supporter for student development and achievements, said, “Averill’s piece is beautifully written, poetic, touching, very topical and highly accessible. I am proud of SMU, for having a student like Averill and her wonderful achievement. Well done Averill”.

You can read the essays by Averill and other students on InK, SMU's institutional repository.