Written by: Lim Jia Yi
Edited by: Felicia Chua
Photos by: ASCO committee
At this point, coffee is probably more important than food to you; you’re thrilled to be able to go to bed at 3AM; and really, when was the last time you cleaned your room? If that sounds familiar, that is because that time of the year is back again – the dreaded finals.
The BIG QUESTION becomes unavoidable: What am I doing this for?
ACSO tells you to Ask UrSenPai – literally. Alumni, Careers and Student Outreach (ACSO)’s first event of the semester, Ask UrSenPai, held last Wednesday, saw nearly 60 NTU-USP students turn up in support, either as panellists or participants, eager to glean nuggets of wisdom from seniors who have done it all before. I sat down as a participant, beside the event organizers- Danielle Lavinia, a Year 1 Public Policy and Global Affairs (PPGA) student and Caleb Wu Kye, a Year 1 Accountancy student- to find out more from our seniors.
“The session was mainly to share some tips and know-hows about internships,” Caleb mentioned, “there was a panel discussion with seniors and alumni, then a networking part to just chill and talk.” According to him, panellists fielded questions regarding preparation for internships and shared some of their own personal experiences in the process. This turned out to be extremely useful for some NTU-USP students like Vernette Chia, a Year 2 Communication Studies student, who shared that she gained a deeper understanding in the specialisation she wanted to do, and it was even more relevant coming from a USP senior in that field.
The students felt that this year’s event was very different from those in the past, having invited a diverse group of seniors in varying industries, from public relations to the public sector. This increase in diversity allows for more opportunities to gain knowledge and understanding in the many possible areas of Singapore’s growing workforce.
When asked about a challenge they faced in organising this event, the organizers mentioned the low sign-up rate by Year 1s. “Year 1s don’t really see the point,” Caleb tells me, “(Coming for this event) gives them a better perspective of their end goal.”
“It was really useful and we learnt a lot even as Year 1s,” Lavinia adds, “especially so for me, since in SSS (School of Social Sciences), it isn’t compulsory to do an internship.”
Zibang, a Year 2 PPGA student, agrees that the experiences and advices shared by the seniors would help them have better foresight. “I started to develop a rough idea about what I want to do in the future, all thanks to the valuable inputs by the seniors.”
Indeed, it’s a timely reminder that the reason we stay up late and sacrifice the cleanliness of our rooms is because we are working hard for our futures, goals and aspirations. Sometimes, we just need someone to give us a clearer image of our journeys to push us through these tough times. Press on everyone!
