Profiles of Class of 2017 graduates

Class of 2017, Singapore
Assistant Manager at National Arts Council (NAC)

Abdul Hamid bin Roslan is an Assistant Manager in Singapore’s National Arts Council (NAC)’s Planning and Engagement Group.

Hamid was the co-founder of The G Spot, a Yale-NUS student organisation that focused on raising awareness on issues of gender, sexuality and feminism through community dialogues.

As a National Arts Council scholarship recipient, Hamid finds that his liberal arts education has allowed him to think flexibly and to problem-solve effectively.

“My broad-based, multidisciplinary liberal arts education has allowed me to consider a variety of approaches when solving complex problems. It has also taught me to critically engage with the perspectives of the people I work with, whether they are artists or arts managers.”

Class of 2017, Singapore
Communications and Marketing Associate at UWC ISAK Japan

Adlin Zainal joined UWC ISAK Japan as a Communications and Marketing Associate after graduating.

Starting with a 10-month contract with UWC ISAK, Adlin extended her contract after spending a few months there as she was spurred by the school’s innovative and interesting work.

Adlin was attracted to the similarities she saw between Yale-NUS and UWC ISAK – both are small, young institutions with an emphasis on student autonomy and leadership, and an integrated residential community. Being part of the pioneer class at Yale-NUS, Adlin feels her experience has helped her better appreciate and understand some of the limitations and challenges that come with being part of a start-up school. In addition, Adlin appreciates the growth opportunities provided by UWC ISAK as she feels encouraged to try out new areas outside her core work.

“My current position allows me to draw upon many of my strengths that I honed while I was at Yale-NUS. While at Yale-NUS, I was a student associate in many departments such as the Admissions & Financial Aid office, Writers’ Centre and Library. The experience has served me incredibly well, because there is a little bit of everything in my current job. For example, my work as an Admissions fellow has allowed me to help out with Admissions at UWC ISAK, where I led teams in reading applications and interviewing. I’ve taken advantage of the many opportunities the College offers, from internships to associate positions, and I think they’ve really prepared me for the workplace.”

Class of 2017, Singapore
Foreign Service Officer at Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), Singapore

Michael James Anthony joined Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) after graduating, and is now a Country Officer at MFA’s Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific (ANZP) Directorate.

The Mathematical, Computational and Statistical Sciences (MCS) major has a keen interest in political philosophy and minored in Philosophy while in college. Since his third year in college, he had been eyeing a career in the foreign service. In his final year, he looked up MFA’s website and applied to join the ministry. As part of the application process, he went through a round of basic assessments, a second round of full-day assessment, and finally a face-to-face interview session.

Michael enjoys the challenges that his job brings as he finds the subject matter compelling and he has learnt a lot in terms of both content and hands-on experience. Michael feels that his college education has helped him greatly in his work as he has had numerous opportunities to practise and sharpen his analytical, writing and presentation skills. In addition, the knowledge he gained from classes in political philosophy and history has come in useful when he needs to analyse geopolitical developments, by way of providing the relevant contexts and backgrounds.

Michael had also received a post-graduate offer to study Mathematics in the UK, and he was faced with the decision to choose between graduate studies and a career at MFA. Ultimately, Michael decided to give up the post-graduate offer and chose a career with MFA.

“In addition to mastering content, my time at Yale-NUS had given me numerous opportunities to practise and sharpen my analytical, writing and presentation skills, including through seminar discussions, class presentations, problem sets and essays. Yale-NUS’ Centre for International & Professional Experience was also very helpful and encouraging as they organised a general practice interview to help me prepare for my job interview.”

Class of 2017, Philippines
Pursuing a Masters of Arts in Religion at Yale Divinity School, Yale University

Carmen Denia is the librarian of the Catholic Theological Institute of Singapore (CTIS). There, she has the great privilege of accompanying students and patrons as they deepen their intellectual and spiritual lives. A normal day ranges from cataloguing amazing, old books and purchasing new ones to translating texts and explaining theology using stick figures.

Prior to CTIS, Carmen completed a Masters of Arts in Religion at the Yale Divinity School. Through the support of the Yale Institute of Sacred Music, she worked on European literature, theology and material culture from the Greco-Roman period to the Middle Ages. Her presentations and publications range from resonances between theological aesthetics and pop music (think: Taylor Swift) to the place of humour, food, and magic in epic literature (think: Dante’s Commedia, but also The Lord of the Rings).

As part of the inaugural class of Yale-NUS, Carmen received a Bachelor of Arts with Honours in Literature. She is grateful to the Humanities faculty and her peers at Yale-NUS for providing her with the opportunity to think about the pressing questions of truth, beauty, and goodness, within a community that became like a family. Carmen was also a student editor for the inaugural issue of The Dante Journal of Singapore, and sang with The Wallets, the first a cappella group at Yale-NUS. She looks back fondly on working for the Office of Admissions and on the occasional pet-sitting gig for her professors and friends.

“Perhaps the most important things I have brought with me from Yale-NUS to graduate school is the joy of learning—both learning for its own sake, but also as a gift to others. Though I came to my major with little preparatory background, my professors and classmates taught me to find beauty in what we studied and to share this joy with others. For their encouragement and where it has taken me, I am truly grateful.”

Class of 2017, Indonesia
Public Relations and Marketing Executive at Shophouse & Co

Evannia Handoyo started working with Shophouse & Co as an Apprentice in October 2017, after a friend alerted her to a job opening at the placemaking studio. While the position was meant for someone with more experience, Shophouse decided to meet her after seeing the interesting mix of experiences on Evannia’s CV. She was offered a full-time position after three months of apprenticeship.

At Shophouse & Co, Evannia is the resident copywriter, community manager, and ‘word fairy’, overseeing the PR and Marketing side of the company’s placemaking programmes and initiatives. As a placemaking studio, Shophouse works with government agencies, creative entrepreneurs, and private developers to create places for people. Evannia’s job scope ranges from managing social media accounts and compiling research data to helping out in event production.

Evannia feels that the values she holds for her work – prioritising win-win partnerships, pursuing out-of-the-box solutions, and honest communication – find their foundation in her experience as a builder of the student life of Yale-NUS College. She adds that academic life is very much integrated with community life in college, which helped her develop an agile mind and the ability to communicate ideas and concepts with ease.

“I remember clearly from our inaugural year that we were introduced to placemaking by Professor of Social Sciences Jane M Jacobs and that was a great influence in our inaugural class’ approach to bringing the campus to life. Everyone is a placemaker at Yale-NUS College.”

Class of 2017, Singapore
Software Engineer at Carousell

Dylan Ho started working in Carousell, a Singapore headquartered mobile classifieds marketplace, in November 2017 as a Software Engineer and his team is in charge of monetisation and implementing solutions for small businesses and customers to improve the seller experience on Carousell.

Six months prior to graduating from Yale-NUS College, Dylan started working part-time at Edtech startup Code Gakko as a Web Developer, where he built an app to teach primary school students how to code. He worked full time for Code Gakko for three months after graduation before deciding to leave to try something else. Dylan then spent two months exploring opportunities in the local game development companies before deciding to consider software development companies.

A fellow Yale-NUS graduate who was working at Carousell encouraged Dylan to apply to join the company. After a rigorous interview process of four rounds – an essay, a long-form coding question (to be completed in a week), an on-site coding test with Carousell’s engineers, and an interview with the co-founders – Dylan was hired as a Software Engineer.

Now three months into his job at Carousell, Dylan is enjoying his work greatly. Dylan feels there are many factors that make Carousell as great workplace: its flat organisational structure which encourages him to voice his opinions and give suggestions; a youthful environment where people are encouraged to challenge processes to improve efficiency; and an international community that gathers the best talents from the region.

“My colleagues [at Carousell] whom I have lunch with everyday are now my friends; we hang out with one another during breaks and after work. Yale-NUS College has taught me how to communicate with people who come from diverse backgrounds, and that has allowed me to work more effectively in the teams at my workplace.”

Class of 2017, Singapore
Fellow at Entrepreneur First

Willie Khoo is a Fellow at Entrepreneur First (EF), where he is working with his co-founder on a blockchain-based platform for delivering social impact. EF is a company builder and startup accelerator headquartered in London and with offices in Singapore, Berlin and Hong Kong. The company helps individuals find a co-founder, build a tech startup from scratch, and fundraise from investors. Willie feels that being in the pioneer batch of students at Yale-NUS has helped him thrive in the uncertain world of startups.

Prior to joining EF, Willie was Communications and Content Strategist at Kyber Network, a blockchain company that provides decentralised exchange services. He graduated from Yale-NUS College as part of its pioneer class of students, with a Bachelor of Arts with Honours in Environmental Studies and a minor in Anthropology.

“Being a fellow at EF is the dream job I never would have dreamed of. It’s pure creation. I’m currently part of EF’s third cohort in Singapore, comprising 108 Fellows from 38 different countries. It feels like Yale-NUS all over again. In the best of ways. And I give all credit to the College for my acceptance into this prestigious programme, for having equipped me with the lateral thinking, confidence, and self-reflexivity needed to hold my own in a cohort of some of the most ambitious and talented entrepreneurs in the world.”

Class of 2017, Singapore
Pursuing a Master in Public Administration at Columbia University, New York

Clarissa Leong is pursuing a master’s degree in Public Administration at Columbia University in New York. An Urban Studies major and a recipient of the Singapore Government Scholarship (Open) from the Public Service Commission, Clarissa hopes to enact positive change through policymaking. She chose to pursue a graduate degree in public administration with the aim of deepening her understanding of policymaking and evaluation to contribute to the future growth and development of Singapore.

“I remember Yale-NUS most fondly for the tight friendships forged and the space for immense questioning, learning and growing. I cherish the conversations on identity, education, family, religion, you name it, at any time of the day and discussions with the administration on important topics such as community building and school identity. At a different institution now, I am only starting to realise how precious and rare those moments were. They taught me how to question, articulate my ideas and to push boundaries. Taking these valuable lessons with me, I hope to further my critical understanding of the world, its institutions and tools of assessment to work on more equitable growth in Singapore.”

Class of 2017, Singapore
Analyst, Finance Division at Goldman Sachs

Elson joined Goldman Sachs in July 2017 and is now working as a Funding Product Control Analyst in the firm’s Finance Division in Hong Kong.

Elson initially applied to Goldman Sach’s Operations Division in Singapore, but was offered a chance to consider a role in its Finance Division in Hong Kong. He went through five rounds of interviews before clinching the job.

During his time with Yale-NUS, Elson had many opportunities to garner international experience through various programmes and initiatives. Those experiences proved useful as he navigates the challenges of living alone overseas. Some of the initial challenges include forming a new network of contacts and friends in Hong Kong, as well as logistical matters such as opening bank accounts and finding a suitable place to rent. Learning from his study abroad experience during college, Elson reached out to the Hong Kong chapter of the National University of Singapore (NUS) and Yale University Alumni and joined their activities, which introduced him to other alumni who are living in Hong Kong.

Being part of the pioneer batch of Yale-NUS graduates, Elson felt that the biggest challenge was introducing Yale-NUS to potential employers to showcase what a Yale-NUS graduate was capable of and what skills they could bring to the job without having the benefit of prior alumni that they had recruited and worked with to do so. In every interview, Elson had to spend some time explaining what Yale-NUS was and the learning experience for Yale-NUS students. This, however, gave Elson an opportunity to break the ice with the employers and helped him differentiate himself from other candidates.

“I believe the whole Yale-NUS experience has helped me in my job search: The liberal arts curriculum built my ability to draw connections between different fields and develop critical thinking skills; founding the Yale-NUS Investment Club (now known as Yale-NUS Student Investment Group) and Yale-NUS Fashion Society is testament that I am able to identify opportunities and take the initiative to execute and build something from scratch to fill the gaps that I have identified; my international experiences, such as spending a summer in Taiwan under the Chinese Language Scholarship, mystery internship in New York and semester abroad at Utrecht University also taught me how to adapt to a foreign environment. Most importantly, I believe my interviewers felt that I was an interesting candidate when I shared with them about my passion in Chinese Language and Culture, where I took a Chinese tea-brewing course in Taiwan and modules such as Classical Chinese and Chinese poetry back in Yale-NUS College.”

Class of 2017, India
Consultant at Oliver Wyman

Manas Punhani started working as a Consultant at global management consulting firm Oliver Wyman after graduating. Based in the firm’s Singapore office, Manas’ role involves carrying out data analysis and research to help solve strategic problems for corporations in different industries.

Manas shares that his job has challenged and tested him in a way that has enabled him to strengthen his analytical, research and presentation skills. It also provided him with a platform to deliver immediate impact to some of the leading companies in the region. Manas feels that his time at Yale-NUS College has given him a strong foundation in how to break down undefined problems, articulate and structure his thoughts and think creatively — all of which have contributed to helping him perform at work.

While at Yale-NUS, Manas studied Chinese for two semesters, before receiving the Tan Chin Tuan Language Scholarship to Beijing to take part in an immersive Duke University’s Chinese Language summer programme. Manas also been admitted to the Yale School of Management’s Silver Scholars Program and he plans to pursue a Master Degree in Business Administration there in the future.

“Today, more than ever before, the ‘half-life’ of knowledge is decreasing dramatically – skills that are relevant today, may not be in a few years’ time. In such an environment, I think that my liberal arts education at Yale-NUS College has given me the ability to adapt, be flexible and learn and absorb new ideas and skills quickly. Moreover, my experiences at the College as well as in China and the US, through study abroad programmes, have given me the ability to work and assimilate into diverse and dynamic environments.”

Class of 2017, Sweden
Intelligence Analyst at The Soufan Group

Mollie Saltskog is an Intelligence Analyst at The Soufan Group (TSG). Before joining TSG, Mollie worked as a consultant for multiple organisations in the private security sector, where her work focused on analysing and identifying trends in conflicts, insurgencies, and terrorism to advise clients in both the private and government sector.

Yale-NUS College and the Global Affairs major uniquely prepared Mollie for an academic and professional career in International Security. During her four years at Yale-NUS, she also studied Mandarin Chinese and she spent a summer in Beijing at the Princeton in Beijing Intensive Language Program on the Chinese Language Scholarship, funded by the Tan Chin Tuan Foundation. Throughout her time at Yale-NUS, Mollie was dedicated to research. She was awarded the 4th Annual NBD Middle East Essay Prize for a research paper she produced under the guidance of Dr Nancy Gleason.

In her senior year, Mollie was selected for the prestigious Schwarzman Scholars Programme and went on to pursue a Master’s of Global Affairs at Tsinghua University in Beijing. As a Schwarzman Scholar, Mollie maintained her dedication to research, and spent time in Central Asia investigating the Belt and Road Initiative’s impact on religious extremism and political violence in the region.

“At Yale-NUS College, I received a truly global education that allowed me to understand the forces that will shape the world in the 21st Century. The rigorous academic experiences and unparalleled resources offered at Yale-NUS, both inside and outside the classroom, made me a more consequential thinker and pushed me to realise my academic and professional capacity.”

Class of 2017, Singapore
Procurement Associate at GSK Asia (Management Trainee in the GSK Future Leaders Programme)

Linus Seah joined global pharmaceutical and healthcare company GSK in July 2017 and was put on the GSK Future Leaders Programme. The programme enables future leaders of GSK to experience different aspects of a chosen business area through job rotations and focuses on building leadership skills. As part of the programme, he will be rotated to different functions within the company over two years. Currently, he is working as a procurement associate where he looks at driving cost savings while simultaneously achieving best value from the goods and services that the company purchases. He sees his role evolving into other spheres including revenue generation and innovation. One of his main projects involved generating a regional strategy to revamp the merchandising services for GSK’s Asia Pacific operations.

Linus got to know of the GSK role via the College’s Career Services Portal.

While studying in Yale-NUS College, Linus spent half a year on the NUS Overseas College (NOC) programme at Tel Aviv where he worked at a corporate venture capital arm of Singtel and spent another six months at Harvard University. Linus feels this overseas exposure (the start-up scene at Tel Aviv, and top-notch academics at Harvard) has provided him with valuable opportunities to develop himself.

At GSK Asia, Linus enjoys the youthful and vibrant working environment as well as the mentorship provided by his company. He feels that the progressive mindset imbued in him during his time at Yale-NUS has served him well in his work. The other benefit of the liberal arts education, according to Linus, is the ability to learn things fast and put them into practice.

As a member of Yale-NUS’ pioneer class, Linus feels that there was the added challenge of prospective employees not knowing enough of the College and its graduates, but he was also encouraged by progressive companies who are open and excited about hiring Yale-NUS graduates.

“Another benefit of the liberal arts education I received is the training of ‘intellectual plasticity’, or more plainly put, the ability to pick up things and apply them quickly. In procurement where I’m given little time to understand an entire category or commodity, the training that I’ve received in school has definitely helped.”

Class of 2017, Singapore
Global Markets Analyst at Credit Suisse

Erika Terrones Shibuya joined Credit Suisse as Global Markets Analyst after graduating where she continues to deepen her understanding of how financial institutions play a vital role in today’s global economy.

Erika had the opportunity to try her hand at various interests while at Yale-NUS. This includes attending multiple Model United Nations conferences in Singapore, helping to create a sense of community as one of the first members of the Elm College Council, being treasurer of the Yale-NUS European Society for several years, representing Yale-NUS College at an Asia-Europe Foundation conference in Hangzhou, China and competing in the Inter-Faculty Games as part of the Yale-NUS Volleyball team, amongst many others.

As a result of the versatility of the Yale-NUS curriculum, Erika has also been able to complement her studies with ample work experience, in various industries and job scopes such as UNIQLO in Singapore and Bangladesh, Deutsche Bank Singapore, Credit Suisse Hong Kong and as a student associate at the President’s Office of Yale-NUS College.

“Being in Global Markets will allow me to be exposed to many different industries every day and I hope the interdisciplinary curriculum of Yale-NUS, as well as the experience of being part of the very diverse inaugural cohort, will help shape my opinions and views to help me succeed in my role.”

Class of 2017, Sweden
Policy Researcher at Stockholm Chamber of Commerce

Adrian Stymne joined the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce in August 2017 as a policy researcher. He has written several reports, one of which made it to the front page of the largest Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter.

Having taken courses broadly in psychology, economics, history and social science, Adrian searched for jobs where he could apply himself to solving social issues. Returning home to Stockholm, he was offered a position with the Chamber.

Adrian enjoys the challenge of researching and writing about the Stockholm area’s greatest challenges. He feels that the psychology research he conducted at Yale-NUS College prepared him well to analyse and understand complex data, and the creative writing courses he had taken helped him make the material more accessible to politicians and laymen. In addition, the Current Affairs course he took on Comparative Criminology helped him provide international comparisons in a report about crime in Stockholm’s suburbs.

In addition to his work at the Chamber, Adrian sits on the board of Swedish International Students & Alumni and works to encourage more young Swedes to study abroad. His Yale-NUS degree has shown him the value of an international outlook, and he believes Sweden will be a better place if more Swedish students join Yale-NUS College and other international schools.

“I am extremely grateful for the wide and deep education I received at Yale-NUS College. Not only do I feel that I now have the ability to quickly master new topics and delve deep into subjects I haven’t dealt with before, I also feel like I have the writing and presentation skills to communicate findings effectively. This combination of skills means I am able to make a strong impact at my workplace and, more importantly, a difference in Swedish society.”

Class of 2017, Singapore
Founder and Director of Creatives Inspirit

Shanice Nicole Stanislaus is the founder and director of Creatives Inspirit, a creative arts company with the mission to empower and nurture a community of socially responsible thinkers, artists, problem solvers and creative change-makers.

While an undergraduate at Yale-NUS, she was involved in designing art outreach programmes such as Camp Chartwell, an arts integration camp for children, and a dance outreach programme she piloted in Battambang, Cambodia. Shanice made her directorial debut with the film Duende, created with several classmates from Yale-NUS. Duende follows a Singaporean dancer as she shares her passion for the Spanish dance, flamenco, and went on to win the top award at the European Union Centre Short Documentary Film Competition 2015. It was also featured at the prestigious Guam International Film Festival 2015. In 2016, her film Refugi was the finalist for the Info Cinephone Festival and one of the shortlisted films featured in the Evolution Mallorca Film Festival and Colortape Festival in Australia. The film weaved together interviews and dance pieces of people with varied experiences in dance, to express the universality of the art form.

An Arts and Humanities major, Shanice has also trained in dance and theatre in New York at Tisch School of the Arts, as part of the College’s semester abroad programme.

“I’m running my own creative arts company called Creatives Inspirit that aims to nurture all kinds of creative talent through mediums of clown arts, physical theatre, dance theatre, film and other forms of multi-disciplinary endeavours. Through our work, we want to reach people in underserved communities who have been told they can never become artists or receive an arts education because of various circumstances like poverty, physical/mental illness and lack of access to arts resources.”

Class of 2017, Singapore
Pursuing a Postgraduate Diploma in Education at National Institute of Education (NIE), Singapore

Joyan Tan is pursuing a postgraduate diploma in education at Singapore’s National Institute of Education (NIE). A MOE scholarship recipient, she taught at a local secondary school for a short stint to gain more experience before she started classes at NIE in December 2017.

Joyan was part of the team that set up Yale-NUS College’s student newspaper, The Octant. At Yale-NUS, she was able to pursue her academic interest in religious history, particularly on Christianity and Judaism. She studied for a semester at Tel Aviv University where she learned about Jewish history and the history of Israel. During her time in college, she picked up Modern Hebrew and also self-studied Biblical Hebrew to continue pursuing her interest in Jewish and Christian history. Joyan’s capstone was a culmination of much of the work and knowledge she had gained over her college years, which she has deemed as transformative in her life.

Joyan found that her own education in Yale-NUS has given her a different perspective on education and history. The flexibility of a liberal arts curriculum meant that she was able to pursue her interests and enjoy learning to an extent she had never experienced before. This has motivated her to find ways and means to bring that joy of learning to her students in the future. Joyan hopes to impart in her future students skills such as critical thinking, historical evaluation and source-analysis that they will find useful throughout the rest of their lives.

“The best thing I think Yale-NUS has done for me is to expose me to a wide variety of experiences, and taught me to focus on doing what I enjoy as well as I can, rather than let myself be caught up in a rat race of grades—an attitude I hope I can bring to my school and students in future.”

Class of 2017, Singapore
Business Trainee at H&M (based in Sweden)

May Tay joined H&M’s Business Trainee programme after graduating and is now based in Stockholm, Sweden. As a Business Trainee, May is on an 18-month rotation programme across H&M’s buying, sales and production functions. Presently, she is a Business Controller Trainee for the Ladies Small Accessories section in H&M’s global head office. In her current role, she manages the budget for her section, leads buyers and buyer assistants to optimise the section’s buying strategy, and contributes to strategic analyses aimed at optimising sales.

In her final year as an Environmental Studies major, May was looking for roles in companies with a good environmental and social reputation, and found in H&M a good match in terms of career aspirations and values. H&M was looking for candidates with entrepreneurial qualities and international experiences, among other qualities, and May feels that her college education has put her in good stead – she was part of the pioneer class at Yale-NUS and had several opportunities to go abroad for field trips, summer school and student exchange.

May shares that her main challenges in working in Sweden are language and cultural differences, as well as climate. It was very challenging for May at the start because she did not speak Swedish and her working style was sometimes very different from her Swedish colleagues. May feels that while nothing quite prepared her for the big life transition, the international community at Yale-NUS cultivated in her a deep interest in foreign cultures and made her more positive about the adaptation process. To help with her transition, May also joined events hosted by the Yale Club of Sweden and met Yale alumni based in Stockholm.

“Yale-NUS brought out the entrepreneur and ‘do-er’ in me as students had to be extra proactive about our college experience, ranging from the kind of student clubs we wanted to join (we had to create every one of them), to the type of student government we wanted to have, and the various kinds of precedents we wanted to set. At Yale-NUS, I had the chance to found clubs, lead teams, and expand my horizon in every possible way through rigorous classes with professors and peers, the very diverse campus community and opportunities to spend time abroad on experiential learning.”

Class of 2017, Singapore
Pursuing a Masters of Arts of Science by Research (MScR) in Integrative Neuroscience at the University of Edinburgh

Sau Yee Tsoi is currently pursuing a Masters in Integrative Neuroscience at the University of Edinburgh. She was inspired to pursue further studies in the field of Neuroscience after doing related research in Yale-NUS and encountering the subject during her study abroad at King’s College London. Sau intends to pursue her PhD in a Neuroscience-related area.

During her time at Yale-NUS, she worked in Assistant Professor of Science Jan Gruber’s laboratory, where she helped to test a Caenorhabditis elegans worm model of Alzheimer’s disease. Her work contributed to a paper which was published in Scientific Reports in 2016. Following this, she went on to Assistant Professor of Science Ajay Mathuru’s laboratory in her final year to work on the role of the CHRNA5 gene in the Danio rerio zebrafish’s response to alcohol exposure.

Outside of academics, Sau was one of the co-founders of the Singers’ Guild, a student organisation, which coordinates the different a capella groups in Yale-NUS and started the pop a capella group, Notes & Ties. She also played in the school’s floorball team, competing in various Inter-College and Inter-Faculty games.

When the time came for her to make postgraduate plans, Sau decided to apply for a Masters programme in Neuroscience. With a solid biology and psychology foundation, she wanted to bring her skills to the next level by taking advanced courses in Neuroscience and gaining more research experience. Currently, she is studying neural networks involved in memory mechanisms in mice and enjoying every second of it.

“From the start, I had my heart set on majoring in Life Sciences. However, it was not until my time in Yale-NUS that I decided to minor in Psychology. In my first year in college, I had the chance to take Understanding Behaviour and Cognition as an elective. This course inspired me to do a year-long Neuroscience course at King’s College London during my study abroad, which in turn cemented my desire to focus on Neuroscience research.”

Class of 2017, Singapore
Business Analyst at McKinsey & Company

Randy Yeo started working at McKinsey & Company in late September 2017. Presently, he is a Business Analyst at the company where he works in client engagement, which cuts across different job functions (e.g. operations, strategy) and industries (e.g. public sector, telecommunications, etc).

Randy learnt about the job opportunity via McKinsey’s on-campus information session at the National University of Singapore (NUS). He was hired after an application process which included interviews with managers and partners. Each interview focused on how he would go about solving a mock business problem.

On what helped him secure this job offer, Randy lists three factors: internships which gave him direct exposure to the relevant skills for the job, career counselling and support provided by Yale-NUS’ Centre for International & Professional Experience (CIPE), and his Philosophy major. He explained that the Philosophy curriculum at Yale-NUS helped him sharpen his ability to debate, be creative, and be comfortable navigating ambiguous spaces – these attributes were particularly relevant during the interview process with McKinsey and his day-to-day work.

Randy feels his college experience has prepared him well for the workplace. In particular, he cites the sense of the sense of curiosity he developed during his undergraduate years for helping him to be creative and find different ways of solving problems.

“One thing about consulting is that you have to quickly understand things (be it a new industry or function) and it is hard to push through if you are not curious about the problem and how to solve it. At Yale-NUS, I think the curriculum, professors, and classmates definitely helped to fashion and develop a sense of wonder and curiosity about the world at large.”