ONE ACS – Consolidating our resources

Cheo Chai Hong, the President of the ACS Old Boys’ Association, delivered the opening address and highlighted the objectives of this career forum, namely (1) to provide greater focus into specific career paths in an informal and interactive setting and (2) to enable participants to have a deeper understanding of the prerequisites needed to enter into those careers. He also expressed gratitude to ACS Foundation (“ACSF”), which sponsored the event. As Vice-Chairman of the ACSF, he explained that the ACSF is the umbrella foundation for all of the ACS schools, which assists them in enhancing the holistic education needs of our students and teachers, and through them, helps to share with society the blessings and rewards of receiving an ACS education. Together with the OBA, the ACSF consolidates our ACS resources and efforts to ensure that our ONE ACS culture flourishes.

A View from the Top

Chai Hong then invited Benson Puah (CEO of The Esplanade), Irving Tan (President of Cisco Asia Pacific & Japan), and Dr Julian Theng (Group Chairman of Eagle Eye Centre), for the C-suite panel entitled

“A View from the Top”, which was moderated by Jonathan Yuen (Partner, Rajah and Tann Singapore LLP), It was gratifying to see students, alumni and parents interact with the panelists on a diverse array of issues which ranged from ‘qualities that employers look out for and how to succeed in an interview’ to ‘what to include in your resume’.

Up Close and Personal – Sharing Insights and Experiences

The panels which followed included the traditional courses of Law, Medicine, Engineering and Banking and Finance, but extended to Entrepreneurship, Public Service, Architecture, Research and newlyintroduced panels such as Sports Management and Information, Communication and Technology (ICT). Each panel was hosted by an alumni moderator and including useful questions such as “Tell us about the Highs and Lows of your career”, “What is a typical day in your profession like?” and “What skills do you need to succeed in this job?” The purpose of the questions was intended to give students and parents a more “up close and personal” insight into what each career entails. The focused nature of each of the industry panels allowed significant interaction between students, parents and the alumni panelists – each of whom candidly shared their personal insights, experiences and advice. In a sure sign of their enthusiasm and interest, many students continued to engage with the panelists even after the session had ended.

Tertiary Institutions – helping students with career options

The presence of local tertiary institutions - NTU, NUS, SIT, SMU, SUTD, and Yale-NUS also enhanced the overall experience of the Forum. Participants were given the opportunity to engage with the representatives on such topics as academic modules offered, career options, and the criteria for different careers, in addition to clarifying queries on application and selection requirements. Having spoken to a number of students after the event, a consensus seemed to have emerged that the Forum had been helpful in enabling students and parents to get a better understanding of the challenges and expectations of different careers and accordingly help students intensify their focus on a narrower range of career options.

Reconnecting with friends and Renewing Ties

For the alumni speakers and moderators, this was a special occasion to reconnect with friends, renew ties with the ACS family, relive school days and most importantly, pass on useful and not readily available knowledge to the current generation. With the exception of those who were traveling, not one ACSian who we approached to speak turned the OBA down.

The ACS OBA Management Committee would like to thank the ACS Foundation for its sponsorship of the event, the principals of the ACS schools for their support and the ONE ACS Career Forum 2015 Planning Committee for the herculean task of pulling this together with great success once again. In addition to members of our own OBA management committee, our team included Juliana Tengara from ACS (Independent), Ganga Jayaram from ACJC, Rita Kaur from ACS (International) and Verin Giovanni from ACS (Barker Road), making this truly a ONE ACS event. Each of the team members came from different campuses, but wore 1 badge, signed off with 1 motto, and sang 1 anthem.

Special thanks to Winston Hodge, Principal of ACS (Independent) for hosting the event at the premises, Juliana and her unwavering spirit, the ACS (Independent) COG team, staff and students for the logistical support, and our alumni speakers for all their time and effort and most importantly, for responding to the call to serve our ACS community.

Such is the ACS spirit, and this is what makes ACS unique. It is the lifelong ties we have to our alma mater, and the willingness and desire to respond to the ACSian call. And of course, the passion to carry on our ACS tradition of humble service and loyalty.

The Best Is Yet To Be

Ong Tek Khoan, Jonathan Yuen and Joy-marie Toh