It was all smiles and laughter as over 40 alumni from the Class of 2008 and Class of 2009 gathered at Tonic-X in SMU Basement concourse for another instalment of the SMU Interaction Night series. Organised specially for these two batches, this Interaction Night on 7 April was a prelude to their 10th Year reunions happening in one to two years’ time.
Associate Director of SMU’s Office of Alumni Relations (OAR) and emcee for the evening, Ivan Low, welcomed the crowd. OAR Director, Associate Professor Low Aik Meng invited everyone to come back often to their home on campus, “Tonic-X is not just any café but YOUR SMU alumni café.”
He continued, “Anyone who is a graduate from SMU is part of the SMU alumni family. In one to two years’ time, you will celebrate your 10th Year reunion and we hope that you’ll continue to come back and contribute in various ways.” Calling out for volunteers, Ivan encouraged alumni to step up to organise the reunions for their respective batches.
Zhou JiaJin (BAcc, Class of 2008) attended the event alone even though her ex-classmates and fellow alumni could not make it that night. When asked why she still chose to go ahead to attend the event, she replied “I think it is good thing that this event is organised by batches because it is more likely that I will see familiar faces even though my friends are not coming. I feel that having these Interaction Nights for alumni who graduated in the same year is more targeted.”
Not a stranger to Tonic-X was Trella Trio, who performed three sets that night. Having performed their maiden gig during the launch of Tonic-X in early March, Trella Trio was back again with an acoustic lineup featuring Trella as the lead vocalist alongside two instrumentalists – guitarist Wayne and percussionist Chuan Rui. Flexible, occasionally switching up the instruments for different sounds and belting out Mandarin and Cantonese songs, Trella Trio was a favourite with the crowd.
After an evening of good food, drinks, music and catching up, the alumni were excited and they looked forward to meeting up again during their reunions.
For more photos from the event, please click here. If you are interested to be part of the team to organise the 10th Year reunions, please contact Ivan low at ivanlow@smu.edu.sg