A new milestone was reached in USP last week as we held our first alumni event! The inaugural Alumni and Seniors Sharing Session was held at the HSS Auditorium, this 2-hour event involved juniors and seniors, as well as the alumni who have started working.
The event served as a platform for juniors to make connections and learn from their seniors’ experiences, while simultaneously allowing seniors to contribute back to the USP community. “I feel that in USP, especially as the first few pioneer batches, we benefited a lot from the programme but we did not have a lot of opportunities to give back,” said Adeline Tan, 22, who was one of the organizers of the event.
Seniors and alumni form diverse industries returned to give a brief speech about their accomplishments and experiences outside of university, and stationed themselves at various locations to allow juniors to freely mingle around and ask questions.
“I am really glad that I can come back to contribute, and return something back to the community,” said USP Alumni Aaron Wee, 24, a Baggage Executive at SATS Ltd. Despite not working in the more popular industries such as banking and finance, he was heartened to hear that many juniors were interested in his job experiences. “Some of the juniors came up to me to ask about how I handle certain job issues, and how I am able to manage over 80 over staff as a fresh graduate, “ he added.
The juniors took the chance to connect with the seniors, and to find out more about how each industry is actually like. “I think it is a very good platform for us juniors to learn more from the seniors who have gone through the internships; they actually have the insights and first-hand experience and we can tap on this platform to learn more,” said Bertrand Wong, 22, NBS student.
Ms. Sandra Walther, the manager of USP, was also present to observe and help present the tokens of appreciation to the seniors and alumni. “I am thrilled with the event. The organizers did a magnificent job. From the moment I got here it was obvious that everyone was having a good time reconnecting. I think overall, this is a real success,” Ms. Walther said.
“As long as you are willing to ask, the seniors will be there,” said Adeline. This perfectly encapsulates the spirit of USP, a family that looks out for one another and leaves no one behind.
Again, thanks to all who organized and contributed to this event. Well done!