November | 2011 | The NANYANG MBA Blog

by Ng Wei Fang, Singaporean, Nanyang MBA Participant, Intake 2011

Engaging in sports is one of the many venues to foster team spirit and camaraderie, and often times it brings out the best in people – to become leaders, team players and great supporters in a ‘more fun way’. That is why we recently had our first bowling event where we had all the ingredients we want in a sports activity – getting fit, having fun and fostering team spirit and camaraderie with not only with our MBA peers, but also with the MBA Office staff.

Our batch’s first ever organized ‘friendly bowling’ tournament was held last September at the Orchid Bowl at The Chevrons, a vibrant and relaxing bowling facility located in the west side of Singapore. There were over 50 MBA participants from our batch (new cohort) and outgoing batches, together with members of the MBA Office who participated and shared the fun with each other

As The NANYANG MBA prides itself with its student diversity (well, we have 18 nationalities in our current cohort!) and how we work together as a team, we were divided into 8 groups that consist of a mix of at least 2 nationalities. Our teamwork came into play in a different setting – bowling! As our Thai classmate Chaweewan puts it, “The bowling session creates unity within the cohort. We get to enjoy each other’s company and get to know each other better. It also creates a good opportunity for the full-time MBA students to meet with our part-time classmates.”

As the games progressed, we witnessed strikes, spares and splits. We screamed and cheered, even if the ball rolled into the gutter. Curved balls, dead balls and even gutter balls – you name it, we have done it. And the way these balls were thrown, add up to the excitement and anticipation whether we could make a strike or just hit the plain gutter. In fact, there were many tries that went down the drain. Nevertheless, we had fun, and our resilience to be the best in what we can do in bowling, just shows that we strive to beat the odds, in whatever we do. And I believe that this makes us Nanyang MBA students to be more successful later in life.

Continue reading Let's do exersice – Friendly Bowling Competition →

by Ralph Camus, Filipino, Nanyang MBA Participant, Intake 2011

Some 20 Nanyang MBA students organized an MBA Karaoke session at the lounge of ‘one of the last bastions of unspoilt nature in this largely cosmopolitan city-state of Singapore – Raffles Country Club, a 25 minute drive from the central business district and less than that driving time from NTU. The lounge where we were going to test our vocal chords overlooked part of the 146 hectares of luscious land with a tranquil lake and rolling green hills plus a glimpse of the club’s two 18-hole golf courses. It was the first Karaoke Night organized by the MBA Student Executive Committee (Ex-Co) where we experienced an enjoyable and fun night of musical expression.

Together with my peers from the MBA program, we were joined by part-time MBA students, as well as our exchange classmates from Spain, the United States and Israel where we gladly belted out power ballads from Aerosmith, Greenday, and even Tom Jones! One of our male Japanese classmates even tested out his vocal prowess with Lady Gaga songs, much to the delight of everyone. There was even a showdown between the ladies and the men, but modesty aside – we, the male participants, dominated the microphone and thus, the night. We sung like there was no tomorrow and hogged the microphone until closing time.

Our exchange peers from the USA, Christine (left) and Israel, Olga (right) with our classmate Janina (center)

The men of Nanyang MBA dominated the singing

The ladies showing us how to dance the almost forgotten – Macarena dance.

Harutaka-san (holding the microphone) belted out Lady Gaga songs

What made that night more fun was that some members of the MBA Office shared laughter and musical notes with us as they added vocal power to the event.

The karaoke night turned an ordinary Tuesday night into a lively gathering of friends, acquaintances and good music. Now that we have discovered who has the powerful voices and the grooviest dance moves accompanying the singing, we are sure that this is definitely not the last karaoke night for our cohort.

Nanyang Technological University