Only into our second year, NUS College (NUSC) won the Top Achievement Award for Commencement Class Giving 2023 across NUS’ Halls and Residences. Leading the campaign were Erika Medina (Industrial and Systems Engineering + NUSC ’23) and Ng Jia Yeong (Economics + NUSC ’23) who worked closely with NUSC’s Development team. This year, graduating students supported the NUS Enhanced Financial Aid Scheme which covers tuition fees for low-income NUS undergraduates.

On why he stepped forward to serve as a Class Champion, Jia Yeong shared, “The community of the University Scholars Programme (USP), and later NUS College, gave me much to be grateful for in my undergraduate years and I was always open to becoming more engaged with the community. I thought being a Class Champion would be a good opportunity for me to represent my cohort to do something special in our final year.” Erika added, “Giving is a cause I resonate with because it benefits many students by providing opportunities that may previously be inaccessible to them.”

Erika stated that many students had the mindset that only the University should be providing financial support to students.  That contributions from fresh graduates would perhaps be paltry.  She then explained how financial support at NUS was a joint effort between the University, the Singapore government and the community. Conversely, Jia Yeong recounted some inspiring moments, “The most heartening words came from those who had personally benefitted from NUS bursaries, because they could really appreciate the effect of the gift on future students like themselves.”

In response to the achievement, Associate Professor Quek Su Ying, Vice Dean (Outreach), remarked, “Within the past five years, NUSC and USP have won the past four Commencement Class Giving Top Achievement Awards. There is a sense of pride and identity in such accomplishments, as we continue to build a culture of giving. Commencing beyond the gates of NUS College, I am confident that our newly minted alumni will inject compassion, grace and humility into their communities.”