4 August 2008 | St Joseph's Boys High School

Date of Visit: 4 August 2008

Time of Visit: 2pm

Contact Person: Principal Father Celestine Serra

Contact Number: + 91 80 2221 3835

Ambassadors Preset:

• Anirban Datta Gupta
• Varun Ponnuru
• Deeptarka Hazra
• Radhika Kanuga
• Shruti Dixit

Abel Sim and Jady Koh were present as well

Summary of Visit:

St Joseph's Boys High School offered us an audience of about 120 students cumulatively of classes 11 and 12 from science and commerce backgrounds; all students who were potentially part of the SMU 2009-2010 or 2010-11 batch. The crowd showed a genuine interest in what we had to say.

I observed that several science students who were unsure what to do next- medicine, engineering, law? - in the typical competitive Indian scene considered the option of business or economics for the first time. It was refreshing to see that "keep your options open" truly gained meaning for them.

The entire team of ambassadors was present. Jady and Abel made the main presentation- they covered application and admission procedures and requirements, finances, scholarships, and CCAs. The audience was engaged in the presentation, and despite a moody projector and sound system, the interaction proved to be a successful one.

After the formal presentation by Jady and Abel, the "informal" dialogue with the students was handled by Radhika and myself. We spoke about our experiences as freshmen and living in a hostel away from home- things that can seem rather scary to a youngster who has never really lived away from home. We also spoke about our degrees and the courses we had to cover, ensuring at the same time that we emphasized on the concept of holistic development and not just academics.

In the end, nearly every student picked up a visiting card,
and several students stayed behind to ask questions.

Their questions were not unusual- mostly about the degree programmes and living arrangements in Singapore. I received some e-mails a few days after the presentation asking for more details on the fee structures (the Tuition Grant, Tuition Fee Loan, etc), to which I duly replied.

There was room for improvement in terms of the availability of brochures; they seem to be in high demand, since students (understandably) wish to share information with their parents when they go home. And of course,
brochures are very useful for future reference when the students actually get down to the application process.

I hope that some of them will be joining us next year. In conclusion, the presentation was productive, and it looks like we made an impact on the boys and girls of St Josephs.