BY CNYSC PRESS & PUBLICITY PORTFOLIO
It’s the last day of our examinations and we are bringing you the next instalment of Humans of CN Yang! This time we are honoured to interview Bee Lee, a second year Computer Science major.
Apart from being a CN Yang scholar, Bee Lee is also actively involved in Garage@Crespion, the NTU K-pop dance group and hall dance. An avid fan of coding and playing computer games, Bee Lee will be sharing about his experiences not just a CN Yang scholar, but also as an active member in hall and extracurricular activities.
- Hey Bee Lee! Thanks for joining us today. We have a couple of questions lined up for you, but let’s start with a general one: As a Computer Science major, why did you decide to join the CN Yang Scholars’ Programme (CNYSP)? Was there anything in particular that attracted you to join this programme?
I ticked the little checkbox that said ‘CN Yang’ and I guess I’m quite lucky that I got it. It was a good thing that happened to me because although I’m on the ASEAN scholarship, CNYSP adds on to it and exposes me to more things – like giving me opportunities to research and get more experience. The research aspect of CNYSP attracted me I guess!
- There are not many Computer Science majors in CNYSP, so could you tell us more about your course? What are some interesting things about computer science, and what challenges have you faced?
I think the common misconception about computer science is that it is mostly just programming. Although there is a lot of programming involved, there are many other things such as learning how computers really work e.g. the fundamental building blocks of a computer etc. If you study computer science all the way through, you should be able to build your own computer from anything you find on the ground – not just buying parts from the shop but from scratch like building transistors etc. From transistors to switches to different parts of the computer and then putting them together to form a whole machine!
Personally it’s really hard to say which is the most interesting part of computer science because I enjoy the entire course as a whole! There are a few hurdles such as project management, especially for the modules that involve more group work. Applying theories in the classroom is not exactly the same as applying theories in the real world.
- You were a group leader for the 2015 CNYSC Freshman Orientation Camp (FOC). Why did you decide to join the FOC committee? Could you share your experiences and/or reflections as a group leader?
I was the group leader for Hydra (one of the FOC teams) and I decided to join for fun and also because of peer pressure (laughs). I didn’t manage to participate in the CNYSC FOC during my first year, and I wanted to get a feel of what the CNYSC FOC was like.
There was this night that I had massive diarrhoea and was really tired. It was quite stressful because as a group leader you have to keep everyone ‘high’, and this meant that I had to be ‘high’ all the time, which really drained my energy. But it was a fun experience.
- Apart from being part of the CNYSP, you are also actively involved in hall dance, the NTU K-pop dance group, and Garage@CresPion. How do you cope with so many commitments while maintaining excellent academic results?
Oh~ By setting your priorities straight? For Garage, it is quite informal in terms of its schedule so during more hectic periods (e.g. hall dance), I could suspend my Garage project. And the different commitments had different busy periods. For example, NTU K-pop dance group is busier in January.
- Could you tell us more about your role in the recent Hall Olympiad Closing Ceremony (HOCC)?
I’m the Vice-Dance Captain! I helped to choreograph a bit of the dance and also cleaned the dances to make the performance neater. I was also involved in keeping the team’s morale high.
- Moving on to Garage@CresPion (find out more about Garage@CresPion here), what project are you currently working on? How are the mentors like?
Right now I’m trying to build an arcade machine (the one we use for dancing)! Basically there are laser beams and you have to slice the laser beams according to the beat. I am doing this because nowadays when I go to the arcade, I can’t really find a similar game anymore and I’m very sad so I want to try and bring back memories!
The mentors are usually quite nice and if your mentor is studying a field related to what you are working on then he/she can give more technical advice.
- How do you maintain such a positive attitude, especially when you have multiple commitments?
Do I always look positive (laughs)? Most people see me when I’m happy. Well I guess my life philosophy is that you should be positive everyday and be happy with what you do. There’s no use in being sad all the time.
I do have down times but it doesn’t last long and normally when I’m sad I’m in my room so you won’t see me sad anyway.
- Many of us know that you play games often, and you also have a YouTube channel to upload your weekly vlogs. How do you find the time to do so many things?
Oh nowadays I don’t play as many games, but I used to play almost every night. I think it’s a habit because I have had the habit of playing games since secondary school and it’s a way for me to bond with my friends back at home. Currently they also have other commitments so they are not playing as much.
Well, my YouTube channel started because my friend persuaded me to start a channel and he also has his own channel. But he has since closed his channel so…but I feel that if I have already started on something, I should remain committed to it.
- Do you have any advice for incoming batches of freshmen?
Hall commitment is encouraged so that you can get a feel of hall culture and make more friends! As for stress management, it really depends on the individual, because different people have different ways of managing stress. As for me I play games or sleep! Everyone should have his or her own ways to manage stress.
- Let’s end off with a classic interview question: List three items that you would bring with you to a deserted island (excluding a computer/phone/tablet etc. with Internet connection). Why?
Hmm…dessert? No no no.
I’ll bring myself (laughs). I would also bring a plush toy to keep me company. Oh I know! I’ll bring myself a BOAT so that I can row myself to another island with more resources!
- Is there anything you’d like to add?
Oh I learnt coding on my own since I was about…eleven through online tutorials etc. I grew interested in coding through this television show in which the character introduced a programme to code computer games! So I tried coding some computer games and mainly proofs of concepts to make myself happy.
The CNYSC Press & Publicity portfolio would like to thank Bee Lee for the interview! On behalf of the CN Yang Scholars’ Club, we would like to wish you a safe and fruitful summer break!