Yale-NUS residential experience supports students’ well-being as they navigate college life

Being a student is not just about the pursuit of grades and knowledge in the classroom. It is also about learning how to exercise self-care and support for the community in times of uncertainty and challenges. From coffee roasting sessions with faculty members at Elm Residential College, to art jamming at the campus courtyards, the College has consistently implemented initiatives that engage our students while taking care of their mental well-being.

Professor of Science (Computer Science) Olivier Danvy and Assistant Professor of Science (Neuroscience) Ajay Mathuru hosted frequent coffee roasting sessions at Elm College for students to enjoy the aroma of coffee and learn more about coffee roasting. Image of one of Asst Prof Ajay’s sessions, provided by Ajay Mathuru.

With the ever-changing COVID-19 restrictions, the scale of interaction among our Yale-NUS family has inevitably been reduced to keep the community safe. However, it was important to ensure that people could still stay engaged with one another.

“We definitely had to get creative in how we organised events,” said Olivia Albin Dure, Residential Life Officer (RLO) at Cendana Residential College. “That’s why we engaged a lot with arts and crafts events in the past semester. We wanted to provide people with a fun and tactile experience that was also COVID-safe.”

Students scrap-booking during Cendana College’s Finals Week activities. Image provided by Daniel Lee.

Aside from hosting artistic endeavours to give students the chance to connect with one another, Cendana College also organised ‘Late Night Breakfast’ during the school’s reading and final examination weeks, where Residential Fellows – faculty members who reside on campus – prepared breakfast dishes, like pies and pancakes, for students to pick up and eat as they stayed up late for revisions. Olivia reflected that these special events were extremely important for students, as they got to experience the fun and positive community-spirit beyond their academic journeys. “Our goal is for these events to provide a space of bonding, joy, and reflection for students amid the busyness of the semester.”

On the other side of campus, Saga College also organised some interesting events for the community, including movie nights and temporary tattoo sessions. Tinesh Indrarajah, RLO at Saga College said, “I recall that our Halloween pumpkin carving event and costume pageant in the Saga courtyard was a huge success!” Saga College also organised numerous bigger scale events throughout the semester, like its signature Mid-Autumn Festival celebration, which was held in collaboration with the other Residential Colleges, Cendana and Elm.

Hand-painted lanterns put on display during the Mid-Autumn Festival on campus. Image provided by Tinesh Indrarajah.

Having a wide variety of events was a way to keep students occupied outside their academic life and give them an avenue to decompress. Gabriel Tang, the other half of Saga’s dynamic RLO duo, said, “Although we couldn’t go out to mingle in large groups, we still wanted to keep the main purpose behind these events alive, which is for students to relax and get away from studying for a while.”

Saga’s residential life team also organised “Suite Visits”, a previously ongoing initiative that has been given new life last semester. After a long hiatus due to the pandemic, Saga RLOs have resumed meeting students safely in their suites for a friendly chat. Nearly 100 students in Saga signed up for the activity.

RLO Gabriel on one of her Suite Visits with a bag of snacks for the students. Image provided by Gabriel Tang.

“It was important for us to engage with students in an intimate setting, where everyone can relax and speak within the comfort of their suites. It’s a good way for us to give a listening ear, get feedback on their lives in school, and even make improvements on how we can support them,” Gabriel said. “And of course we didn’t show up empty-handed when we visited – we brought snacks!”

“We have many wellness events,” said Nageen Rameez (Class of 2024), who is a Student Associate with the Student Affairs Office (SAO). “For example, a whole week was dedicated to mental health awareness here. Things like that make you feel like the College really cares for your well-being. With the amount of resources and people you can reach out to on campus, you know there’s always going to be someone you can sit down and talk to if you need it.”

In addition to activities organised by the Residential Colleges, campus animals or pets played a role in helping our community to decompress in-between their busy schedules. Besides stopping to stroke our adorable campus cat Putu, and one of University Town’s cats Ashy which frequents the Yale-NUS grounds, students could also mingle with Gohan, Assistant Dean of Student Affairs Office May-yi Shaw’s family dog, at Cendana College. Many were spotted playing with Gohan at the courtyard, or simply scratching him behind the ears while relaxing and catching up with friends.

(Left to right) Putu, Gohan, and Ashy are some of the adorable animals on campus that bring joy to our community. Image of Gohan from Instagram account @helloimgohan.

“It’s really heart-warming to see how Yale-NUS embraced Gohan as a family member, and how Gohan can bring smiles and laughter to everyone,” said Asst Dean Shaw.

Needless to say, there were many pieces that came together – both structurally and spontaneously – to keep our students engaged and the Yale-NUS spirit alive. Residential life at the College will continue to thrive and we are ready to embark on our journey in the next semester!