By Siddhika Didel (Economics + NUSC ’26)
NUS College’s (NUSC) second Faculty and Staff Giving Campaign, From Our Community, For Our Students, concluded earlier this year. Led by nine dedicated Faculty and Staff Giving Champions, and with special help this year from the school’s mascot, Ollie the Otter, the campaign surpassed last year’s participation rate. Faculty and staff gave generously to support priority funds at the College, ensuring that an NUSC education remains accessible to deserving students regardless of financial background.
Faculty & Staff Giving Champions for the 2025 campaign along with the school mascot, Ollie, thanking the community for their support.
At NUSC, learning extends far beyond the classroom. It reflects our values of curiosity, community, and exploration, lived out in books borrowed for an independent project, in the chance to join an overseas programme, in late-night conversations that shift perspectives. For many students, these experiences are only possible because of the generosity of faculty and staff who choose to give.
For Lecturer Hannah Smith-Drelich, giving back and supporting students extends beyond resources. It’s about creating moments of discovery, by “opening doors to opportunities”, whether that’s equipment for clubs, funding arts projects, or simply enabling students to experience Singapore as their extended “campus”. To her, university is a rare, precious time in life when learning should go beyond the transactional. “I give to provide opportunities for students to discover something about themselves or the world,” she reflects.
For some staff, the motivation to give comes from lived experience. For Kanna s/o Selvakanapathy, Senior Executive for Global Pathways and Special Programmes, the decision to give is deeply personal. As a student, he juggled full-time work with part-time study to pay his tuition fees, an experience that shaped his belief in the importance of access. Today, he contributes so that financial worries never close doors for NUSC students. Having witnessed students withdraw from overseas programmes because of cost, he is committed to ensure “every student gets the full university educational experience, regardless of their financial situation.” His generosity reflects not only his journey, but also his conviction that no student should be held back from discovering their fullest potential. Faculty and Staff Giving is not only rooted in gratitude, but also in a deep belief in students’ potential. “I think every student is here at NUSC for a reason,” says Kanna. “The staff and faculty believe that each of these students’ potential can be harnessed for something good.”
Lecturer Dr Loo Yoke Leng also knows firsthand how transformative financial support can be. Growing up in a large family with limited resources, she relied on scholarships to pursue opportunities that shaped her university years. Now, serving for a second year as a Faculty Giving Champion, she pays it forward so that students today can have the same freedom to learn, explore, and dream. “Supporting students is not just about financial aid,” she adds. “It is also about emotional support. Many face personal challenges, and we must walk with them through those.” Her involvement in the Faculty and Staff Giving campaign is both practical and deeply human, ensuring that no students feel they must walk their path alone.
That belief is shared by Dr Joel Chow, a Faculty Giving Champion in this year’s campaign as well as Senior Lecturer who was once a student at the University Scholars Programme, one of NUSC’s founding institutions. Having benefited from the opportunities he received then, he now gives so that today’s students can experience the same growth. He shares that he has “personally seen how students develop through the opportunities open to them at NUSC”. Through the Campaign, Dr Chow hopes to extend the opportunities NUSC offers to more students, a way of honouring the support that shaped his own journey while investing in the journeys yet to come.
What sets NUSC apart is the strength of its community, faculty, staff, and students supporting one another through transitions, challenges, and discovery. Whether through financial contributions, mentorship, or simple acts of care, the NUSC community demonstrates that education is not just about knowledge, but about investing in people. As Dr Loo reminds her colleagues, the impact of giving lasts far beyond the moment: “A consolidated donated amount can translate into long-term support for students. That’s the power of the endowment scheme.”
The Faculty and Staff Giving Campaign is more than a fundraising initiative; it is a collective act of belief in students and in the transformative power of education. Each gift, no matter the size, helps open doors from our community, to our students. At NUSC, those doors lead to opportunities that change lives.
