Time seems to pass remarkably quickly while in university, and before we knew it, another academic year has come to an end.
On 7 May 2016, USP held its annual Year-End Party at Goodwood Park Hotel. But besides commemorating the closing of the year, the event also celebrated the graduation of our pioneer batch of USPians (seven USP students who were in three-year programmes had already graduated last year).
Describing the event as “fantastic”, graduating Year 4 Accounting and Business student Gabriel Chee said: “It’s the closing of a chapter and it’s very meaningful to us. And the fact that [the organising committee] put in so much effort – we really appreciate it.”
Group photo of our pioneer USP batch
Themed “A Greek Affair: Beginnings of a Great Civilisation”, the party saw USP students, staff and faculty dressed elegantly in the colours of white and gold.
The theme was chosen as it symbolized how the Year 4s will be starting out on a new journey after graduating from USP. It was also reminiscent of our philosophy core modules ‘Writing and Reasoning’ and ‘Ethics’, which taught us about Greek philosophers such as Socrates and Plato, among other things.
To see if USPians were up to scratch in matching the Grecian theme, we spoke to Professor Andres Luco, who taught the Ethics module in previous semesters.
“Absolutely, … people are in togas, and some really went all out. Others are very fashionably dressed in white and gold,” Prof Luco said. “Looking sharp, inside and out.”
When asked what he thought about the choice of theme, Prof Luco responded: “It reminds me of Socrates’ comments… that an unexamined life is not worth living. I hope that USP students have come to appreciate that in their own ways, and that they’ve learned a lot from the USP curriculum, which is really designed to turn them into reflective people.”
Our emcees of the night, Faris and Geraldine, encapsulated the theme perfectly.
Best Dressed Male Year 2 Shu Han, who spared no effort in dressing to the Grecian theme, from head to toe.
Best Dressed Female Year 1 Si Yu – her dress is made from a scarf!
Year 3 USPians Zhi Hong, Daniel, Bryan and Yiheen looking uncannily like Grecian gods.
The dinner featured an eventful line-up of performances by our fellow USPians, from the theme song of the latest Korean drama hit “Descendants of the Sun” to ThePianoGuys’ Let It Go (Disney’s “Frozen”) Vivaldi’s Winter on the keyboard and cello.
Joey and Nicholas sang The Descendants of the Sun theme song, among other songs.
Hilary and Edward performed ThePianoGuys’ Let It Go (Disney’s “Frozen”) Vivaldi’s Winter on the keyboard and cello.
A handchimes group that formed from a previous USPecial Handchimes Workshop, performing Beauty and the Beast: Tale as Old as Time.
Besides performances, the event also had a photobooth service, table games and lucky draws with attractive prizes. The fun-filled event was a good catch-up session for all USP students, staff and faculty.
A group photo of USPians at YEP 2015/2016
A big thank you to the USP YEP 2015/2016 Organising Committee for the wonderful event!
