Singapore–MIT Alliance
A year ago, if you had asked me about the SMA Alumni Club, I would have said that I knew very little about it although I joined some of the activities. About 2 months ago, when I was elected President, I had a period of contemplation and planning.
I accepted this responsibility because of the support and encouragements of the other committee members, rich in their experiences in running the club committee as well as from organising past events. The main reason, however, is because I empathised with the experiences of our alumnae, and there are numerous opportunities to reach to all of you our alumni to continue to be part of SMA experience. This year, the club focus will be YOU, our alumni.
Reflecting back the club’s achievements, the club is full of its promises and hopes. As SMA alumni we are bonded by experiences and friendships that we have formed from years being together. As graduates, we have started contributing to society in various ways. We grow, mature, and have numerous commitments and pursuits. Memories and connection are fading away. Let that not be the case. The club can help by providing the platform for this connection. Take the first step, support the club by being our member and if you can, be part of the committee on project/event basis. And then, take the second step, provide your feedback on events that you’d like to attend. The final step, come down to support the event.
The basic ingredients of the club are simple: human resource and funding. The club is fortunate to have assembled a handful of talented people in the core committee who are generously committing their time to the club. To be successful, the final secret ingredient is alumni participation.
Take the first step now and do not let the SMA connection fades away.
Nelly Kasim
President
5th SMAAC Management Committee
|The 5th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the SMA Alumni Club (SMAAC) was held on 16th April 2005 in Alumni House, NUS. The incumbent President, Freddy Chang, presented the activities that were organised during work year 2004/2005.
The past held events consisted of Networking Cocktail Evening, SMAAC Presentation to SMA students before their MIT trip, One Night Tour around Singapore, Rainbow Project, Career Sharing Session, and Bowling competition.
The first event was Network Cocktail Evening, held on 29th May 2004 at the NUS Alumni House. It was well attended by about 60 Alumni and students. It had enabled the alumni to interact and network, as well as to meet up with their classmates. In this event, many alumni had also signed up to join the Club. The event was also graced by the SMA Co-Director, Prof Andrew Nee, who not only gave the welcome speech and stayed throughout the event to speak to the alumni.
SMA Alumni Club MIT Trip presentation to SMA students, held on 24th July 2005, was conducted by the President in conjunction with the SMA Briefing to the Students. The President shared with the students on the travel places in Boston and its nearby area. Many students were keen to find out more about the MIT trip.
One Night Tour around Singapore, held on 18th September 2004, was another great success. It was a new event, bringing the alumni and students to explore the nightlife and tourist places around Singapore. It was well attended by about 80 alumni and students. Many students and alumni had also signed up to join the Club. Positive feedbacks were received from the participants.
Rainbow Project, the Club’s first Charity event was jointly organised by the Club and Rotary Club of Serangoon Garden on Sunday, 16th January 2005. About 50 alumni, students and friends joined the event and helped to paint 10 one-room flats for the old folks of Blk 55 Sims Avenue for the festive seasons of Chinese New Year and Hari Raya Haji. Many positive feedbacks were received from the participants as well as the alumni who did not join the event. Even the co-organiser, Rotary Club of Serangoon Garden was happy and satisfied with the cooperation with the Club, and hoped to be able to jointly organised the event again next year.
Career Sharing Session, held on Saturday, 26th February 2005, was conducted to provide the graduating students on the overview of the career opportunities available for them. Alumni were coming back to share with the students on their companies’ cultures, job responsibilities, relevance of training and knowledge provided by SMA to the job, the challenges faced and the learning gained from the job. Some alumni even shared their companies’ job vacancies with the students. It was definitely an interactive session, despite of the low attendance of students due to heavy workload. The participants were asking many questions to find out more about the jobs, salary and the PhD option.
The final activity, the Annual Bowling Competition, was held on the same day with the 4th Annual General Meeting. About 25 students, alumni and friends registered for the competition, held at Cathay Bowl, Chevron. The Club was able to provide full subsidy for the members who attended both the AGM and the bowling competition.
As of 18th September 2004, there were total of 118 members, consisting of 11 Life Members, 53 Ordinary Members, and 54 Associate Members.
The election of the new Management Committee was carried out smoothly. |Congratulations to the following members who were elected to the SMAAC Management Committee in Year 2005/2006:
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