This was my first volunteer experience, being in the 'Service-Learning Club' interest group. This was where I got to exchange different sets of cultural knowledge with a group of migrant brothers and create a more inclusive and diverse society.
 

I worked closely with a group of Youth Corps’ senior volunteers (the people wearing black) who led and oversaw the program.  I helped run and engage with the event alongside them. I made meaningful friendships and connections along the way with the participating volunteers!

 It was an eventful 4-day program that were filled with games and fun. In each session, apart from the activities, interacting with the migrant workers allowed me to learn more about how they find Singapore, their living conditions and their hometown. Some of them are homesick but still working hard to make a living for their family. They enjoy living in Singapore and are appreciative of the necessities being provided to them. They make sufficient money and have made a lot of new friends. They enjoy Singapore’s food but still choose the food closest to their hometown. I had so much fun exchanging small talk and conversations and getting to know the migrant workers better. Even though there were language barriers, I tried my best to overcome them by using simple English. Seeing the migrant brothers open themselves up and getting more comfortable each day makes me so proud.

I never thought there would be a day that I would bond with migrant workers. However, it was definitely a core memory unlocked where I also got to drop the common stereotypes and prejudices that Singaporeans have towards the migrant workers that they are filthy, dirty, unhygienic, etc. and Asian parents telling their kids to distance themselves. I remember when I first told my mum about this volunteering program, she was quite reluctant about me going for it, but interacting with the migrant workers allowed me to view them differently, that they are such respectful, kind and genuine human beings. They come to Singapore not just to make money, but also to shape Singapore into what it is now, with highly developed infrastructure and challenging engineering roles. All of us Singaporeans have a tiny role to play by simply treating them respectfully and equally. From then on, I would tell the people around me, especially my mum, to show some respect for the migrant workers and to try putting ourselves in their shoes. They deserve gratitude and kindness just like others in a small country like Singapore!

I have a strong passion for dancing since I was young. Hence, I joined the Hip-Hop interest group. Being in the interest group taught me strong resilience skills as I tried to juggle dance and study commitments. It was not an easy journey, but looking back, I am proud of myself for overcoming it with my love and passion for dancing. The training was exhausting, but I persevered with strength. I do not regret joining an interest group that allowed me to acquire new skills and reminded me that there is always room for improvement in my pursuit of dance, as well as in time management and adaptation.

My friends and I took the opportunity to join the STA Timber Competition 2025, which takes place every two years. The competition encourages sustainable product design using reclaimed or fallen local wood. It allows exposure to real-world timber industry practices and innovation. It is open to all tertiary-level institutions.

-final design in the shape of a pyramid--

The target audience was seniors, and the theme was 'SG60'. My friends and I worked on brainstorming for an idea, which we had a tough time with, as we wanted to come up with something unique and fresh. We finally came up with a lamp named 'Ignivida', 'Igni' meaning light and 'vida' meaning life, that symbolises a spark of life and follows the theme of unboxing. We had in mind to create a product that supports emotional value and comfort for the seniors, especially in the fast-paced society of Singapore, to reflect the nation's resilience and growth. A lamp that provides a calm and reassuring presence in everyday life. Elderly people can use the product as a night lamp that they could either place on their bedside or on the wall, which is accessible and functional for use in reading or the use of electronic devices at night or even waking in the middle of the night for the toilet.

Our team was shortlisted as one of the ten teams out of twenty to advance to the next round of prototyping. The competition is strongly focused on upcycling wood waste and creating a product mainly out of wood. Each team get allocated to a Chaperone Company to select an industrial wood pallet for use. We considered the size and how easy it is for us to work with the wood for our product to reduce further wood waste, and selected 'Pine wood'.

Making the lamp was not smooth sailing, and it came with a lot of trial and error that gave my team a hard time as we each tried to accommodate the time that we had during our holidays to come together to work on the project. However, the time was not enough for us to make what we had originally planned, a 5-sided pentagon lamp, which led to many changes and refinements. Despite the many difficulties, we tried to come to a common ground to change the design shortly before the deadline. We tried to derive a quick alternative solution with all the resources that we had so far, and not giving up despite chances of failing, proves our determination to succeed and what we have achieved so far. Although we were not confident in our final result, as it was our first time creating a product out of pine wood from scratch with limited machinery and tools, I am glad that we overcame it with the support of one another, as well as the warmest staff, in charged of the school's 'Makerspace', who guided us closely during this period. I couldn't be more grateful to the people who were here along with us, especially my peers, who entrusted one another and were constantly pushing ourselves to break boundaries and set new goals each time, which led to a final furniture of a pyramid lamp successfully.

We presented our product to the STA committee and judges. Some selling points of our lamp include the usage of warm lighting with the use of LED light bulb, which consumes less electricity to drive sustainability, provides a calming atmosphere and ensure lower amount of light glare to prevent eye-strain for seniors. Patterned fabric made out of recyclable cotton creates an interesting shadow when the lamp is on, which seniors can appreciate. Operations of the lamp is simple as it only requires the main power outlet’s switch to turn it on. Interesting shape of a clean and unique structure of a pyramid to spice up the living quarters. Our lamp product aligns with elderlies appreciation for meaningful, long-lasting object.

Although our furniture did not make it to the top three and we did not bring any prizes home, I definitely walked away with valuable takeaways, rich experiences and personal growth. From challenging the use of reclaimed wood to build furniture, promoting sustainability in the timber industry, to working with unfamiliar machinery and tools that were overwhelming, time-consuming and intensive, testing my inner creativity. Never would I have imagined myself making furniture from scratch, purely out of wood and taking the step to try and learn so much from it, with the boldness in challenging myself with new opportunities.