Close to 100 students and alumni attended the inaugural SMUX Interaction Night held on 27 October 2015. Out of this, 52 SMUX alumni thronged the University Lounge as they returned to their alma mater across the six SMUX teams – Kayaking, Diving, Biking, Trekking, Skating and XSeed.
Starting the session was Director of Office of Alumni Relations (OAR), Associate Professor Low Aik Meng, who was delighted to see many familiar faces that evening. As he welcomed them, he reiterated the purpose of SMU Interaction Nights – to bring the SMU students and alumni community together in a collaborative environment aimed at creating something greater than the sum of its parts. He called on all SMUX alumni present to form a new SMUX alumni group so that bonds and affinity can be strengthened.
| Aaron Sng (BSc Econs, 2014), SMUAA Engagement Team | Mooris Tjioe, SMUX President |
Next to take the stage was Aaron Sng of the SMU Alumni Association (SMUAA) Engagement team. With the vision of SMUAA as background, he shared the association’s plans for a clubhouse, starting with a F&B café at the former 4Point3 premises. This was the main rally for support as he called on all alumni present to sign up as association members to help build a more vibrant alumni community.
An introduction by SMUX President, Mooris Tjioe, followed. Mooris shared with OAR after the event, "The idea of an Alumni Interaction Night was mooted by SMUX's previous Management Committee/Crew as part of a larger push to bridge that gap – we are looking into making this a yearly affair, and eventually branching out into involving Alumni more and more in other areas of SMUX, such as event sign-ups and informal gatherings."
The SMUX community was treated to a heartfelt sharing by 5th SMUX President, Yam Yujian, who led a trekking expedition to Mount Everest Base Camp and Islands’ Peak in Nepal during this student days. Titled after the SMUX original motto, “Make the Boundaries Fall, and Let The Growth Begin”, Yujian shared three key points. The first boundary is the overemphasis on one-self. The second boundary that prevents growth is tunnel vision. Finally, the third boundary to growth is the lack of initiative and follow-through.
| Yam Yujian, 5th SMUX President and Guest-Speaker | SMUX alumni and students - a vibrant community |
Anson Ho, former SMUX member shared, “SMUX has always lived up to its name of being a family and the people are always welcoming regardless of whichever team or year you came from. An event with people like that is always guaranteed to be incredulous fun. Further, the event gave me a very good chance to reconnect with old friends over good food and wine, what's not to like about that? Lastly, like Benjamin (the emcee) said, who knows these people might just be the fun family that I'll be seeing on my next adventure.”
He aptly added, “The biggest takeaway for me would be the chance to reminisce memories, catch up with old friends and the chance to meet new ones. Also every time I attend a SMUX event, I'm reminded that I should 'Never lose your sense of adventure in life'.”
Timothy Tio, one of our pioneer SMU Alumni Ambassadors quipped, "Having had the opportunity to take part in different SMUX activities in the past, this event was a good platform for adventure-minded people to gather and get to meet with the crew from various years, as well as find out more about upcoming plans, such as alumni taking part in SMUX activities going forward. This would definitely promote student-alumni connections within the community, and encourage both students and alumni alike to break out of their comfort zones and learn more from each other as they interact at such events in the future. In the same vein, alumni with a similar adventurous spirit will be drawn to participate in these events and activities, which will only serve to grow and strengthen the SMUX family."
About SMU Interaction Nights
The fundamental belief, that bonds forged during student experience in SMU are enduring, form the basis of SMU Interaction Nights. A new initiative designed to facilitate meaningful interactions, these community events will feature different themes and aim to connect two important SMU constituents – students and alumni - with faculty and staff by bringing them together through a platform of collegial sharing and camaraderie.