Following the success of our first alumni singles mixer, the SMU Summer Bash held in April 2015 and considering popular demand by our alumni for more of such events; Office of Alumni Relations held its 2nd Singles Social on 13 February 2016, the first in the New Year. 19 Gents and 21 ladies chilled out with us on a Saturday morning for an Ice Cream Social held at Udders Ice Cream parlour. If there was any awkwardness amongst the participants, the ice was soon broken and laughter ensued as participants learnt the how to say hello to one another the Udders way.
The ice cream making workshop followed and after a short lesson on ice cream making, participants attempted to make their very own ice cream using items you can find in your kitchen (yup, no ice cream maker involved). Working in teams of two, each pair got to choose 1 of 3 ice cream flavours to concoct. Excitement and hilarity filled the room as everyone stirred, squeezed, shook and even massaged their way to create their very own ice cream experiment. It took a little more time for some but it was a successful attempt for all as they dipped their spoons to savour the icy cool fruits of their labour.
An all you can eat Ice Cream Buffet was their reward for all that hard work. No time was wasted as they helped themselves to waffles, waffle cones, toppings to accompany the variety of ice cream flavours they had to choose from. At this point, participants also got the chance to interact with everyone through a facilitated group rotation. Taking after the ‘speed-dating’ model, the ladies stayed at the same table while the gentlemen rotate tables, allowing both parties to meet a new group of “dates” every 7 - 10 minutes.
Engineered to promote interaction, these casual rotations allow both parties to meet everyone in the session though short, friendly conversations. With the hands-on activity held earlier, it definitely made the rotations much livelier and more comfortable for the participants.There were fresh conversations and smiles all around with everyone making new found friendships as we ended our 2nd singles social, on the eve of Valentine’s Day.
One of the gents (who declined to be named) that participated in the event, has this to say, “I feel that the event was really meaningful as it allowed us to widen our social circle and to learn how to communicate better. It was great going to this event and I look forward to being part of your future singles networking events”
That said, while professional growth and development is necessary, a healthy social life is important and adds immensely to ones quality of life. We here at OAR definitely look forward to hosting more of such socials and new experiences for our alumni community
As they say, ‘All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy’