Written by Siew Tung Dawn (English Literature + NUSC [USP] ‘24)
Ms Jill Lee will be the upcoming Speaker for the joint NUS College (University Scholars Programme) and NUS-ISS Commencement Ceremony 2024. Class of 2024 graduands, Siew Tung Dawn (English Literature + NUSC [USP] ‘24) and NUS-ISS Valedictorian Prerak Agarwal, chatted with Ms Lee as she shared words of wisdom for the Class of 2024 across a variety of topics.
Ms Lee holds an illustrious portfolio across various local and global firms. She currently sits on the Management Board of NUS-ISS. Ms Lee is also a non-executive director at Schneider Electric, PSA International, 65 Equity Partners and JTC Corporation. Prior to this, she was the Group Chief Financial Officer and a member of the Executive Committee of Sulzer Ltd, a global listed company headquartered in Switzerland.
Interdisciplinary Education
The concept of interdisciplinary education has been taking educational institutions by storm in recent years. It is a core aspect into NUS College’s and NUS-ISS’ curriculum offerings and is embodied by our mission to break open the classroom. She credits her own interdisciplinary education with better enabling her to understand, and hence effectively communicate with, fellow colleagues.
Having worked with various global corporations, Ms Lee is no stranger to meeting business partners of diverse cultural and social backgrounds and speaks warmly of an interdisciplinary education approach, which she praises for exposing learners to broader perspectives and prompting one to critically evaluate situations from multiple angles different from their own. She concludes that such training would develop one’s ability to leverage the strengths of diverse people, tap on their perspectives wisely, and hence lead to rich outcomes.
Lifelong Learning and Being Teachable
But what lies beyond formal education? Ms Lee enthusiastically exhorts: “don’t switch off!”.
For instance, in the office, we could “hone our senses” by being aware of conversations or events occurring around us, even if we are not directly addressed in them. Staying “online” means maintaining a curiosity to learn, purely for the sake of it, even when there is no other tangible personal benefit in that moment. Crucially, such lifelong learning extends beyond the sphere of work, too. Ms Lee strongly encourages individuals to intentionally evaluate their observations (For instance, asking oneself:“Oh, what does that mean, though?”) even while engaging in quotidian activities like going to the supermarket. If buying oranges can prompt us to consider “supply chains, sustainability, and healthcare”, we begin to more meaningfully engage with the bigger picture of our world.
Mentorship
Admittedly, not all of us are used to extrapolating from groceries to global affairs. In this regard — and of course many others — it may be helpful to consider keeping an eye out for potential mentor figures who have walked the path before us. Ms Lee, a huge proponent of mentorship, has implemented mentoring programmes herself, and continues encouraging companies and volunteers to do so. She expressed her thankfulness towards various “very supportive leaders” who took the time to guide her through her professional life. These leaders helped her “see different perspectives, better navigate the corporate hierarchy, appreciate the philosophy of decision making”, and “learn best practices”, to name a few — evincing their irreplaceable roles as informal, though just as treasured, mentor figures.
In particular, Ms Lee advocates for “cross-mentoring”, where individuals are intentionally matched with mentors from different departments or fields of work. She cites the benefit of such cross-mentoring relationships being better-placed to generate fresh perspectives, which can enrich both individuals’ learning. With cross-mentorship being a rather counterintuitive approach, it seems wise to keep Ms Lee’s advice in mind as we seek rich, mutually-edifying cross-mentoring relationships.
Moral Values and Concluding Advice
Ms Lee’s top three pieces of advice for our Class of 2024 graduands are to:
- Dream courageously — take the initiative to pursue purposeful causes.
- Persevere patiently — be diligent and earnest in all that you do, even when the going gets tough and it goes unrecognised by others.
- Keep a close watch on your morals — values like integrity, compassion and trustworthiness are inherently precious as they say what you stand for.
On behalf of the Class of 2024, we would like to thank Ms Lee for granting us the time to share her wisdom for this article. You can look forward to the NUS College (University Scholars Programme) and NUS-ISS joint Commencement Ceremony, happening on 13 July 2024, during which Ms Lee will deliver the commencement speech.
