Reuniting on campus – Yale-NUS College Alumni Reunion 2023

The Yale-NUS alumni play a vital role in maintaining the College’s spirit beyond the physical campus space, carrying the memories, ethos and spirit of the Kingfisher experience in Singapore and beyond. On 20 May 2023, over 300 former students returned to what had previously been their home to catch up with one another and relive their time at Yale-NUS.

The event began with a special lunch to commemorate the fifth-year alumni reunion of the Class of 2018, the second cohort to graduate from the College, in Yale-NUS President Joanne Roberts’ apartment. Reconnecting with her former classmates at the occasion, Saza Faradilla (Class of 2018) reflected on the diverse paths her cohort had traversed since their undergraduate years, with some pursuing their academic careers at PhD level, while others opted to build families of their own. The intimate gathering also provided a platform for alumni to share their hopes for the future of the College’s legacy with President Roberts.

President Roberts expressed her gratitude for the involvement of the alumni in upholding the Yale-NUS spirit, “Our alumni are our most important legacy, and they represent what will continue on beyond 2025. Many of our alumni have come forward to contribute their ideas and time to the College’s legacy projects. The projects are a labour of love by our community, and I am truly privileged to be co-creating the projects with them.”

Other events were also held, including the opportunity to revisit Brewhouse, the student-run coffee cart, receive Halcyon glitter tattoos, and collect memorabilia, including reports and graduation cards from the College’s earlier years. Alumni were also able to retrieve and view their old capstones, undoubtedly bringing back fond memories of their year-long final undergraduate projects which remain a hallmark of the Yale-NUS experience. Other activities included the light-hearted Alumni debate that left everyone chuckling as the former students reminisced on references to the Common Curriculum, another Yale-NUS trademark.

“The reunion was such a heartwarming and nostalgic trip down memory lane – a reminder that Yale-NUS and the spirit of our school exists not only in physical spaces, but also in the people we meet with and grow from along the way,” shared May Wang (Class of 2022).

Besides reminiscing on the past, alumni also looked to the future, convening in the Performance Hall for an evening panel discussion with President Roberts and Vice President (Engagement) Dr Trisha Craig, with conversations centered around “Moving forward, how do we want to celebrate Yale-NUS College?”

The panel, which was joined by Scott Lee Chua (Class of 2020), the co-chair of the alumni task force, over Zoom, provided updates on the College’s ongoing digital legacy archive and alumni task force, including plans to create a registered alumni society in Singapore. The updates were part of larger collaborative efforts between alumni, current students, staff and faculty to preserve and continue the Kingfisher community beyond 2025, with projects including a physical Heritage Exhibition in the pipeline. The upcoming endeavours continue to provide alumni the space and opportunity to give back to the Yale-NUS community and interact with the current community.

For May, watching current students mingling with alumni was a heartwarming experience, “I’ve been reminded that Yale-NUS must live on through the people who once inhabited these spaces – the community we choose with intention”.

For many alumni, the reunion offered a moment in time where they could relive their halcyon days, reconnecting with the Yale-NUS community and the beloved spaces they once called home.

Note: This article was updated on 5 June 2023.