Sharing by Ms Joelle Chen, Head of Sustainability, Asia Lendlease Corporation

Having the opportunity to attend a talk by Ms Joelle Chen was really an eye-opening experience for me. Ms Joelle mastered in Architure in the National University of Singapore (NUS), and subsequently pursued a MBA at the Singapore Management University(SMU). Through the talk, she shared about her numerous educational and career switches throughout their life, including a complete switch from a fully science stream to that or the arts. Her profound attitude towards change made me realise that everyone has their own strengths and weakness, and our path to success is not determined by what we can or cannot do, but rather whether we are willing to learn. In retrospect, the biggest takeaway from Ms Chen's sharing was that we we each need to do was to learn to create our own plans, but also be not afraid to break it.  This caused me to reflect more on my task-oriented self, and made me realise that I needed to learn to face my fears of failure. 

Sharing by Mr Jake Tan, Co-Founder of Marvable

As someone new to the business sector, I had little knowledge on what to expect. Mr Tan's sharing brought new insights in the working world of business and I was amazed by the multitude of career opportunities that business had to offer. During the talk, Mr Tan introduced briefly on his career as an entrepreneur and how his company was started out 3 years ago by him and his group of friends. Having an adept interest in business at a very young age, he decided to pursure more in his passion and eventually started his own business. What I found most meaningful was the fact that he had a group of support who he could rely upon, which encompassed his parents, his mentors and two of his best friends from polytechnic; and their support remained as a safety net during his hard and treacherous times. Overall, Mr Tan's sharing brought me one key takeaway, and it was that the ability to simply reflect and gather feedback from your peers is the best way to improve oneself. 

Sharing by MOH holdings: Hannah Leong, Senior Podiatrist Woodlands Health, Allied Health Services

Having sustained Knee Arthritis from dancing, Ms Leong sought help from various professionals before landing in a Podiatrist office, who helped her back on her feet and into dance by simply providing a suitable shoe insole. This made her realise how fascinating a podiatrist could do and prompted her to pursue her passion.  Her story made me aware of the more less-known sector of healthcare, which was on the study of feet. The main takeaway I got from the session was "Ikigai", a Japanese concept referring to something that gives a person a sense of purpose, a reason for living. And applying the concept in the working world would mean to find a job that suits your interest, is relevant in today's world and is something you think would be the most meaningful. 

Sharing by MOH holdings: Divya Murugan, Senior Occupational Therapist, Khoo Teck Puat Hospital

Ms Divya is an occupational therapist at Khoo Teck Puat Hospital, and the idea of being an occupational therapist was a whole new world to me. Ms Divya explained the intracies of an occupational therapist, the relevant soft skills needed as well as the numerous challenges faced while at work. The most prominent comment that she emphasised was the ability to juggle many tasks and challenges all at once, and that plays a key role in deciding whether the job is the right one for you. 

Sharing by Association of Medicine (Singapore), Mr Michael Widjana 

Mr Widjana is a podiatrist who specialised in pedimetrics, and his key roles emcompasses having to make braces for children, young children who sustained sports injuries as well as nail surgery, which he mentioned was his most adored task in his job. Having switched from public to private sectors, he managed to attain a wider view of the world of podiatrics and gained more experience working in private than public sectors. Overall, the key learning aspect was that the healthcare sector itself was not limited to the standard nurses or doctors, but rather a vast scope of jobs available within the healthcare sector. 

Discussion session with representatives from the Singapore Chemical Industry Council

The representative shared more about the basis of what the Singapore Chemical Industry Council did, which was to play a regulatory role in the development of safe and sound regulations for other chemcial industries in Singapore. Its key roles emcompass facilitating, functioning, as well as enabling new chemical industries in the development of environmentally freindly and sustainable practices. Singapore's chemical industry in it itself played a vital role in developing the basis that forms most of our everyday lives, and hence it is extremely relevant to venture more in the industry. Jurong Island, Singapore's industrial Island, forms the key backbone of Singapore's chemical industry, making it a vital chemical hub in not just Asia, but also the World. To sum, the chemical industry allows one to choose across the multitude of roles, and majoring in a chemistry related course does not close doors to the opportunities, rather, it opens more room for one to explore the industry, allowing for increased specialisation later on.