Profiles of Class of 2020 graduates

Class of 2020, Singapore
Foreign Service Officer at Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Singapore

Celeste Beh is a Foreign Service Officer with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Singapore.

She cherished her time at Yale-NUS because it allowed her to explore and study a wide variety of courses across majors. Celeste never felt limited in what she could read within the College and even took her first classes in Psychology during her last semester purely due to interest. She believes that this freedom gave her the opportunity to learn vital lessons from different disciplines instead of being limited to just her major.

Yale-NUS also supported Celeste’s interest in Hawaiian Culture and History by according her the opportunity to attend a semester at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. She took classes with some of the most eminent academics in Oceanic and Hawaiian studies and was even able to visit the Hawaiʻi State Archives to consult primary material for her final year capstone project.

“I had the opportunity to craft two Independent Reading and Research Modules with my professors, which allowed me to delve deeper into topics of special interest to me. The professors in Yale-NUS are also incredible in providing support and guidance to students. I feel immensely fortunate to have faculty who are invested in student success and thoroughly dedicated to their work.”

Class of 2020, Singapore
Recipient of the Changi Airport Group Scholarship

Juliette Chia is a recipient of the Changi Airport Group (CAG) Scholarship and will be joining the Group’s Airside Transformation Office, to contribute to transforming processes like baggage-handling to become more efficient and automated.

Juliette values her experience at Yale-NUS as it has allowed her to integrate her interest in Urban Studies with her future profession. During her first summer break in 2017, she interned at a passenger-facing cluster and witnessed new, innovative measures being rolled out to self-check-in kiosks. The experience sparked her enthusiasm to be at the helm “of conceptualising and ideating change in an industry like aviation.”

Juliette believes the topics covered in the Urban Studies major have enabled her to better define her views on transformation and how such changes ought to be implemented responsibly.

“The Urban Studies major offered me a different perspective to the development of mega projects, and taught me to ask questions from a more critical lens. I think such questions are important and could positively affect the way future projects are rolled out.”    

Class of 2020, Egypt
Management Consultant at Oliver Wyman

Ahmed Gobba is a Management Consultant at Oliver Wyman. Based in the Singapore office, he conducts research and data analysis to provide advisory services to firms across Asia. He is drawn to this work as it allows him to work closely with clients in companies from industries such finance and healthcare to tackle their most pressing problems.

He feels that studying at Yale-NUS has encouraged him to explore and nurture varying interests, instead of being siloed in one field. In his current job, Ahmed realised that this agile style of learning is invaluable as the most complex problems of today cannot be solved by only examining them from one angle, and it is helpful to have a broad understanding of how all the aspects fit together.

“Yale-NUS’ sense of community was another aspect of my college experience that helped in preparing me for working life.  I had access to direct forms of support, such as friendly seniors who were always willing to take the time to share advice on their experiences. More importantly, the culture of constant discourse and reflection that defines the Yale-NUS community also enabled me to better consider my goals after graduation.”

Class of 2020, Singapore
Management Consultant at Oliver Wyman

Izzah Haziqah is a Management Consultant at Oliver Wyman. During the semester break of her penultimate year, she interned at the firm.

While at Yale-NUS, Izzah had the privilege of working at a tech start-up, conducting research for a regional trade organisation, spending two months in Beijing to learn Chinese, tutoring weekly for a self-help group, and solving real-world business problems in teams in Singapore and in the United States. These opportunities would not have been possible without the support that she received from the College.

She believes that her diverse academic and pre-professional experiences have provided her with a foundational understanding of business, education, technology and policy, and the various challenges faced by stakeholders in those sectors. She is excited to make full use of what she has learnt from her liberal arts education to make a positive impact on society.

“Yale-NUS has granted me the confidence to approach any situation with an open mind, willingness to learn, and the ability to analyse and tackle complex issues from multiple lenses.”

Class of 2020, India
Pursuing a MD-PhD at Duke-NUS Medical School

Anjali Kannangath is pursuing a MD-PhD at Duke-NUS Medical School (Duke-NUS), a seven-year programme which combines medical education with research training to develop clinician-scientists who interface between medicine and science.

The tight knit community at Yale-NUS has offered Anjali unparalleled access to research opportunities right from her first year, and enabled her to discover her passion for scientific research. After being involved in various types of research opportunities such as fieldwork, behavioural studies and computational experiments, she has been able to make a more informed choice regarding the type of approach she prefers. The flexibility offered by the Yale-NUS curriculum such as the opportunity to pursue independent studies in a niche area has led her to discover her interests in neuroscience.

Anjali also credits non-scientific courses and the Common Curriculum programme for pushing her out of her comfort zone by enabling her to critically examine intersections between the sciences and the humanities. These courses have allowed her to grapple with moral issues, cultivate a deeper sense of empathy and critically reflect on her personal choices.

“The small community at Yale-NUS has made it incredibly easy to approach professors, get involved with various projects, and seek help from others. In particular, I am extremely grateful for the mentorship I have had from various professors and they have been instrumental in my growth as a student and scientist. Whether it’s through coursework, capstone, or research projects, their commitment to teaching has pushed me to think critically about the scientific process, rigorously evaluate arguments, and build confidence in my own intellectual abilities.”

Class of 2020, Singapore
Recipient of the Ministry of Education Teaching Scholarship

Krishan Sanjay Mahesh is pursuing a postgraduate diploma in education at the National Institute of Education (NIE). Thereafter, he plans to be a secondary school teacher, teaching Physics and Mathematics.

During his time in college, Krishan, who is a recipient of the Ministry of Education Teaching Scholarship, spent a summer break at a secondary school attachment where he taught classes and led a project to set up a Science Talent Programme.

As a Physical Sciences major who minored in Psychology, Krishan believes that the wide range of courses offered at Yale-NUS allowed him to explore fields outside of his major that are especially relevant to his future career.

“Yale-NUS has given me the opportunity to explore a variety of interests. From studying developmental psychopathology at the Yale school of medicine, to understanding the history and politics of sexology in the Weimar Republic, Yale-NUS has encouraged me to go beyond what a typical physics major would do. My liberal arts education here has also exposed me to various perspectives about the world around me that I deeply value and intend to share with my students.”

Class of 2020, Singapore
Joining the Attorney-General’s Chambers as a Deputy Public Prosecutor

Louis Ngia will be joining the Attorney-General’s Chambers of Singapore as a Deputy Public Prosecutor after graduating from Yale-NUS College.

During his time at Yale-NUS, Louis grew to appreciate the value of its diverse student population. He recalled fondly how he used to live with a life-science researcher, an ardent Nietzschean philosopher, an archaeologist, and a computer scientist over the course of five years at College. Their incredible passion about their fields inspired him and challenged him to be more empathetic in his speech and thoughts.

On the Double Degree Programme (DDP) in Law and Liberal Arts, Louis noted that the experience has been valuable and has given him exposure to as many fields of knowledge as possible.

“The diverse exposure on campus forced me to ask myself if I have thought about a particular matter from a different context. I find this empathy and flexibility in thinking will set Yale-NUS DDP students up well for a future in the legal field.”

Class of 2020, USA
Juris Doctor Candidate at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Law School

Michael Smith is a Juris Doctor (JD) candidate at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Law School. His decision to pursue law stems from his concern over the ecological crisis that the world is facing.

Having studied philosophy at Yale-NUS, Michael found that this has equipped him with the skills to parse difficult texts, break down and diagram arguments and do close reading. These came in handy when he did the Law School Admission Test (LSAT) and have him well placed for his postgraduate degree.

“In a time of world-historic crisis, we need to act. Given my skills and my training in philosophy, I’ll best be able to act if I study law. Studying law can translate into work doing advocacy, community organising, public policy or politics, all of which are sorely necessary if we are to endure what’s coming.”

Class of 2020, Japan
Trust and Safety Agent at Twitter APAC

Kanako Sugawara is a Trust and Safety Agent at Twitter APAC. She and her team moderate content to ensure that users feel safe expressing themselves on the Twitter platform. While at Yale-NUS, she was in charge of publicity and social media for Kingfishers for Consent (KfC), the College’s Sexual Wellness Peer Educators, a group of undergraduates who serve their peers and the Yale-NUS Community through efforts such as outreach and education, and workshops on topics such as healthy relationships and sexual encounters, and consent and communication.

She believes that the rigorous training she received at Yale-NUS as a Psychology major made her more flexible, open-minded, and resilient, ultimately contributing to her being a good fit for her current role at Twitter.

“While working with Kingfishers for Consent, I spearheaded the planning of Denim Day on campus, a day of solidarity for survivors of sexual assault. The work I did with KfC continues to inform the work I do today as I strive to make social media a safer place for people of all backgrounds.”

Class of 2020, Singapore
Junior Gameplay Programmer at Ubisoft Singapore

Elaine Wijaya is a Junior Gameplay Programmer at Ubisoft Singapore, where she engineers solutions for blockbuster-scale games.

During her time in Yale-NUS, Elaine explored her interests in mathematics and contributed to a research project with a Yale-NUS faculty member on computational geometry as a programmer. Being passionate about the arts, she also took figure drawing, oil painting and animation classes in college. She also had hands-on opportunities to contribute to the college’s art scene as a freelance graphic designer, and was a set designer for several campus theatre productions.

Elaine believes that her college experience has enabled her to explore game development as a career, which requires both technical and artistic skills. Her exposure to these fields has been especially invaluable in communicating with people from a variety of disciplines.

“I am extremely grateful to my mentors in college who helped me build structure around my diverse interests. They have given me the confidence to be fearless in forging my own path, and truly realise a career from it. Yale-NUS’ approach to providing students with quality, tailored classes and interactions has been instrumental in building lasting relationships with professors, who genuinely care for us and invest in our growth.”

Class of 2020, Singapore
Programme Coordinator & Portfolio Associate at HATCH

Benedict Tan works at HATCH, a venture capital company that invests in aquaculture and alternative seafood and offers adjunct advisory services. He coordinates the accelerator programme and workshops while supporting portfolio management and the advisory services business unit.

Benedict’s time at Yale-NUS nurtured him to think critically and creatively when solving problems. He also learned about the importance of community-building, which he continues to prioritise in his professional role. The diverse interactions he had in Yale-NUS has helped him to collaborate with individuals of different backgrounds.

His Environmental Studies Capstone project on the history of fish farms in Singapore allowed him to appreciate the role of the media in shaping public perception and the evolution of Singapore’s food policies – both of which are relevant to his industry.

“The interdisciplinary nature of  Environmental Studies major showed me that the worlds we inhabit are deeply entangled, whether they are corporate or academic, marine or terrestrial. This taught me to analyse issues from various angles to come up with the best possible solutions.”

Class of 2020, Singapore
Analyst at Public Service Division

Yip Jia Qi works as an analyst in Singapore’s Public Sector Division. He is responsible for reviewing policies pertaining to compensation and organisational design, while monitoring labour market trends and understanding the needs and challenges of agencies across the Civil Service. He is also working on applying machine learning and artificial intelligence to problems in organisational design in his free time.

While at Yale-NUS, Jia Qi split his time between physical sciences and his minor in philosophy. He discovered his passion for philosophy while taking the Yale-NUS Common Curriculum and continued his studies in philosophy throughout his four years at the College.

“Although my role in compensation is highly data driven, I find that crafting good HR policy is also an incredibly human endeavour. My interdisciplinary background was quite uniquely suited to this role. In fact, I can’t imagine myself being able to do this job without the combination of experiences I’ve had at Yale-NUS.”