Over a year ago, I returned to Singapore after nearly a decade overseas and vowed that I would resurrect my dormant ACS OBA membership and reconnect with my fellow ACSians. Feeling nostalgic at the last AGM in March, I e-mailed Benson Puah that very evening to volunteer in the OBA. I was expecting to be asked to sell fun fair tickets or tables for the Founder’s Day Dinner, but was surprised and honoured to be co-opted into the ACS OBA Management Committee, and even more surprised to be asked to come up with a musing of my very own.

In this musing, I will dwell on two topics – first, what ACS has meant to me and secondly, how the OBA is relevant to me, and perhaps can be to all of you.

Like many of you, ACS was part of my life growing up. Both my great grandfathers were Old Boys, my maternal grandfather a past OBA president, and my father a member of an earlier OBA Management Committee and Board of Governors. My uncles, cousins and nephews are all ACSians. It was therefore a natural choice for me to enroll in ACJC after my 10 years at the Methodist Girls’ School.

I loved my time at ACJC. I was active in the Students’ Council and the Drama Club and even more active in trying to dodge Mr Lenn Wei Ling’s sentry duty at the gate and escape to Holland Village with my friends. However, it was only when I left school to go to Smith College in the U.S.A. that the true value of my experience began to show itself. Like many kids off to university, I was concerned about how I’d match up against other first year students - and I wasn’t seeking to excel but was more focused on simple survival. Luckily, the rigour of an ACJC education stood me in good stead, both through the humanities type classes that I enjoyed and the Economics classes which, although I knew were good for me, were to be endured like cod liver oil. Secondly, I was also curious and concerned about how I’d fit in socially. My previous visits to the U.S. had been limited to Disneyland and a Greyhound bus trip past the Grand Canyon and although I wasn’t overly sophisticated, I was savvy enough to realize that this wasn’t necessarily sufficient preparation.

Fortunately for me, one of ACS’s strengths was and remains its diversity. During my time at ACJC, I interacted with a truly broad range of students with different backgrounds, viewpoints and personalities – and this helped enormously when it came to fitting in. In addition, I was amazed at the remarkable sense of community that defines ACS as an institution and its reach not only in Singapore but throughout the world. When I was in university, there were enough ACSians in the Boston area to allow us to celebrate Founder’s Day in a downtown hotel and have smaller gatherings in dodgy dim sum restaurants in Chinatown throughout the year. And all of a sudden, Singapore didn’t feel so far away. And this theme has continued throughout my post-graduate years. I’ve been fortunate to live in a number of cities for the past decade before finally returning home to Singapore. And in each of them, my closest friends have ended up being ACSians, whether ones I’d known before or new acquaintances met in London, Hong Kong or San Francisco. Because the fact is, diverse as we are – we share values and an outlook that means we ACSians really do have a lot in common beyond our limited command of the Chinese language.

Which brings me to my second point. I must confess that when I first contemplated getting involved in the OBA, I questioned what I might have in common with what I assumed would be a bunch of predominantly male, quite senior (in age and stature) individuals swapping stories of ‘Senior Cambridge’ days. In this age of Facebook, Linked In and Twitter, I wondered what the OBA’s relevance was to people like me. But now having re-engaged, I realise the ACS OBA will survive and thrive because of our commitment and love for the school. It’s easy to click on a button and be part of a Facebook group, and we as ACSians should use these mediums as part of our outreach to each other and proclaiming the strength of the ACS brand. However, I believe that joining the OBA goes beyond just connecting with alumni. It’s a lifelong extension of your time at ACS to meet your changing needs throughout your lifetime, an opportunity to be mentored, and to mentor. In my opinion, this is the best way to show your loyalty and dedication to ACS and to allow you to stay involved, give back and keep the ACS pride alive.

There have and will always be diehard Old Boys and Girls who can be counted on to stick with the OBA regardless of its overall direction and strategy. But the OBA will be enriched through a broader reach to its potential membership and in turn ensuring that the organisation reflects the aspirations of the broader membership group. It’s the difference between an election in which 20% of the people participate versus one in which 80% do. In the latter case, the people certainly get the government they deserve (in a positive sense). More importantly, we are not striving to increase membership for membership’s sake. We have set this as a goal to have a more inclusive and dynamic OBA that is truly reflective of the broad church that has passed through the doors of the institution over the past half century or more.

The OBA is currently taking special steps to revitalise the organisation and increase its appeal and relevance. In order to do this, we need and want to hear from you. Efforts are already underway, but rather than steal anyone’s thunder, I’ll ask you all to stay tuned for our membership drive which we will be rolling out later this year. We don’t ask for your vote per se, but we do ask for your participation. Bring a friend, tell a friend.

And as always,

The Best is Yet to Be!

Joy-marie (aged 1) with her grandfather, the late Mr Chen Jan Jee. The illustrious Mr Chen played an important role in the ACS OBA and served two terms as President from 1955 to 1957.

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