The ACS OBA hosted the 6th ONE ACS Career Forum at ACS (Independent) for the students, parents and alumni of the ACS family and the Methodist schools in Singapore on 29 July 2017. Organised by the ACS OBA and sponsored by the ACS Foundation (ACSF), the Forum has become an annual flagship ONE ACS event that reaches out to all our local ACS units and seeks to strengthen the bonds within the ACS family.

This year, we were delighted to welcome our largest audience to date. It was amazing to see the entire Centre for Performing Arts 2 of ACS (Independent) and its gallery teeming with participants as Mr Lim Tat, the President of the ACS Old Boys’ Association, delivered the opening address. He highlighted the objectives of the Forum, namely for students and parents to:

1. gain a greater in-depth understanding of what a career in each of the various industries entails in a candid, informal and interactive setting and

2. understand the pre-requisites needed to enter into, and characteristics to excel in those careers.

Mr Lim also expressed gratitude to the ACSF for its active support of the Forum from its inception. 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.

The opening session for the day was the C-Suite panel moderated by Jonathan Yuen, Partner, Rajah and Tann Singapore LLP who engaged our distinguished alumni, BG Mark Tan, Chief Guards Officer/ Commander 21st Division, Singapore Armed Forces; Jerry Lim, Chief Operating Officer, JP Pepperdine Group; and Mark Zhou, Head of Investments, Golden Energy and Resources Ltd, in a lively discussion on career experiences, advice and personal lessons learned from their own time at ACS and in their own career journeys.

The panels which followed were hosted by alumni moderators who posed questions such as “Tell us about the Highs and Lows of your career”, “Describe a typical day in your profession?” and “What skills do you need to succeed in this job?” The purpose of the questions was to give students and parents a frank insight into the realities of what each career entails as shared by alumni members of that industry. The sessions also allowed for audience participation and both students and parents engaged actively in dialogue with alumni panelists.

Over 80 alumni speakers across 14 professional disciplines that included traditional courses like Law, Medicine, Accounting, Engineering and Banking and Finance, but also extended to Entrepreneurship, Public Ser vice, Architecture, Media, Allied Healthcare, Startups and Tech/IoT (Internet of Things), joined us. This year, the Organising Committee enhanced the programme further with new Business Development and Marketing panels and expanded our softskills track with sessions such as ‘Acing the Scholarship Interview’, ‘Building Your CV’ and ‘Creating Your Personal Brand’.

Local tertiary institutions - NTU, NUS, SIT, SMU, SUTD, and Yale-NUS were also present to complement and enhance the overall benefit of the Forum. Participants were able to engage with representatives from these institutions on topics such as academic modules offered, career options, and the criteria for different careers, in addition to clarifying queries on application procedures and selection requirements.

For the speakers and moderators, this was a special occasion to reconnect with friends, renew ties with the ACS family, reminisce and most importantly, pass on the torch of knowledge and experience to the current generation. Who better to tell the ACS story than those who have lived it?

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, the ONE ACS Career Forum 2017 Planning Committee, and in particular, our core planning team including Juliana Tengara from ACS (Independent) and Ganga Jayaram from ACJC, members of our own OBA Management Committee and teacher and student volunteers for their time and sacrifice in pulling off the herculean task of planning and running this event.

We wish to give special thanks to Mr Winston Hodge, Principal of ACS (Independent) for hosting the event at the premises, and to the amazing ACS (Independent) COG team, staff and student leaders for the logistical support. We also give thanks for the unbreakable ties that make our ACS family unique and for the ACS Spirit that lives on through all of us who devote our time, effort and resources to further the ACS call to serve our alma mater.

The Best Is Yet To Be

Ong Tek Khoan, Jonathan Yuen and Joy-marie Toh