Student Profile |
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Faculty: Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences
Major: Social Work with a minor in Political Science, Year 2
Co-curricular Activities (CCAs):
• Group Head of Strategic Management and Founder, SPLAT!
I founded the SPLAT! community arts movement to encourage the public to accept and offer a second chance to youths-at-risk and ex-youth offenders while inspiring community action to support their rehabilitation and re-integration into society. I lead 450 programme-based volunteers to work with youths-at-risk and ex-youth offenders.
• Head of Outreach, Society of Social Work Students
• Volunteer, Aftercare Service, Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports
• Volunteer, Meet-the-People Sessions, Tampines Central
• Volunteer Student Social Worker, The Singapore Buddhist Lodge (SBL) Vision Family Service Centre
Why did you decide to come to NUS?
Even before receiving my GCE ‘A’ Level results, NUS was my university of choice. I find joy and fulfilment in influencing and initiating change to impact lives, inspire community action and make a difference to society. I had no doubt that I could better achieve these goals through an education at NUS, with its vibrant community, broad-based curriculum and emphasis on research. It is also the only local university offering social work, which would prepare me best for making a difference to our community and giving my best to shaping lives in the same way that mine had been shaped. Since joining NUS, I have not looked back since!
Fondest memory at NUS
I enjoy my every experience in NUS. If I had to choose my fondest memory, it would be a tie between my time in the Social Work Field Practice module and the Social Work Freshmen Orientation Camp 2009.
The field practice module comprised a 10-week attachment at a family service centre. It offered an opportunity to apply the knowledge I learnt to help clients, with guidance from experienced practitioners. The challenges I encountered helped me grow in many ways as an individual and an aspiring social worker.
As for the Social Work Freshmen Orientation Camp 2009, I had so much fun being an Orientation Group Leader, facilitating activities, games and icebreakers for freshmen. We stayed at Sheares Hall, had roti prata for supper and played games at West Coast Park. Above all, it was heartening to see my social work peers and seniors come together to welcome our freshmen.
Dominic on …
Balancing studying, family, friends and work
I believe that the university is a place where we pursue our passion for acquiring knowledge that can help us impact the lives of those around us. Studying is part of life, may be viewed by some as the part of life, but it certainly isn’t all there is to life! I make it a point to complete my revision and readings on weekdays so that my weekends can be spent with family, friends and for recreational activities. Roll with the flow and don’t accumulate your readings!
Making Friends
It’s been said that diversity is the spice of life. Keep an open mind, be keen in forming friendships and resist the urge to judge others. We are all unique, and there is always something we can learn from one other.
Dominic’s Favourites
Pastime
Late-night suppers with friends and university mates. Suppers are a great way to let our hair down, bond and exchange views with one other. It also helps that I’m a foodie. Few things can beat the combination of great food and great company.
Module
Social Work in Medical Settings (Module Code: SW3207). The lecturers are experienced practitioners. Besides helping us understand the theories, issues and challenges of social work in medical settings, they made lessons come to life by sharing their personal motivations and experiences. During tutorials, we were required to work in groups and apply our knowledge to case studies. Hospital visits were also arranged for us to observe and interact with social workers in the medical field.
Social networking website
Favourite eating place on campus
I enjoy eating at The Deck, the canteen at the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, also popularly known as the Arts canteen. There is a great variety of food spread across three floors. My favourites include Sichuan noodles, yong tau foo and the Mushroom Swiss burger from Burger King. Not forgetting the quick cup of coffee before lectures and tutorials!
Movie
Freedom Writers. It is about a teacher working with challenging and disadvantaged youths in a school in the United States. Her students, all at-risk students, also known as "unteachables", must be forced into class by security guards and segregate themselves into racial groups in the classroom. Determined to transform them, she takes two part-time jobs to pay for more books and spends more time at school. She gradually earns the trust of her students, who open up to her and share with her their experiences of being abused, seeing their friends die and being evicted. She overcomes the odds to inspire change in the school environment and administration. Her students eventually turn around, with many graduating from high school and moving on to university.
Freedom Writers made a deep impression on me. In some way, it inspired me to answer the call of service to our community and challenge society’s conventional notions of success. I share in the protagonist’s belief that the power of the human spirit can turn frailty into strength and mistakes into lessons.
Music
Cantonese and Malay songs
Thing about NUS
Opportunities to engage in social work! Need I say more?