12th February was a date anticipated by many alumni and students from the SMU School of Information Systems (SIS). More than 120 alumni and students gathered together to welcome the Lunar New Year with the annual Chinese New Year celebration. Jointly organised by the SIS Alumni Group Executive Committee and the SIS Society, SIS Dean Professor Steven Miller graced the event together with faculty and staff from SIS.
Themed “猴到SIS” in this Monkey year, Professor Miller kick-started the event with a speech to welcome alumni back to their alma mater. Then came the segment everyone was waiting for – the traditional Lo Hei. Lo Hei or Prosperity Toss is a traditional activity carried out during Chinese New Year in Singapore and Malaysia. The ingredients for Lo Hei were added one at a time to the dish as the emcee read out the significance of each ingredient. Laughter was in the air as everyone shouted well-wishes for the New Year and tossed the ingredients around.
A panel discussion followed after dinner for current students to find out more about life after graduation. SIS alumni Aaron Tan (Class of 2010) from Carro, Gabriel Lok (Class of 2014) from Accenture and Cheryl Lee (Class of 2015) from BNP Paribas shared their experiences from different industry sectors.
It was heart-warming to see current students taking the initiative to engage our alumni and expanding their networks. SIS alumni present were enthusiastic in sharing their personal experiences and life stories with their juniors. The event was indeed a testament to the saying that SIS functions like a big family.