SUSS’ Convocation Speaker Says This Uni Was His ‘Last Choice’ But Chose To Be Positive Despite Rejection

By
Victor Fong
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Convocation speech? People listen to that?

Image: Giphy

Although most of us probably stay in a half-awake in autopilot hear-clap-you-clap mode during speeches like this, at least one person paid attention to the speech this speaker made at convocation.

Just a little someone you may or may not know called Ong Ye Kung, our Minister of Education.

Ong Ye Kung Praised The Speech In A Facebook Post

Yeah, he liked it so much he didn’t just clap on hearing it; he made a Facebook post calling it “one of the best speeches given by a graduand at a convocation ceremony” and summarised the speech.

We can only imagine this was Ong Ye Kung in the actual speech:

Image: Giphy

And yes, that’s really the only reason we covered this story. Because without a big name giving it notice, who really notices what people say at convocations right?

SUSS Was Wong Ee Wai’s Last Choice For University

Image: Facebook (Singapore University of Social Sciences)

Wong Ee Wai, the graduand (FYI there is such a word: it means “a person who is about to receive an academic degree”) whose speech impressed Ong Ye Kung, told the audience that SUSS was his last choice university.

Let me spare you a Google. SUSS stands for Singapore University of Social Sciences, also known as SIM University (UniSIM) back in 2017.

And the fact that you might have to Google it for the full name (meaning so new that people don’t know about it), was why Wong wasn’t sure about accepting the offer to be admitted into the school.

But since he was rejected from other public universities, he didn’t have a choice. His father would also tell him the same when asked on his opinion.

To Wong, this wasn’t the lack of choice though. It was an open path to walk in.

“But SUSS had opened a door when others were shut – it believed in us!”

The Little Things That SUSS Does Differently

If you aren’t clued in by the fact that he’s the one speaking already, Wong did well in SUSS. Enough such that he was offered a job at Ernst & Young (that’s one of the accounting big 4s) before he graduated, having performed so well during his internship.

Image: Giphy.com

Among the things that helped him are the “little things” SUSS does differently: Common Core modules, Service-Learning projects, Work Attachments, Overseas Experience and many others.

In the case of the Common Core modules, people questioned the value of history, literature, culture and technology in a business degree. But this formed “an integral part to my education, developing a world view enriched by multiple fields of knowledge.”

Service Learning projects allowed them to apply their knowledge on real societal issues.

Overseas Experience taught them “valuable insights to the workings of the world“.

“Just like gears in a mechanical watch, all the components work together to create a complete experience but with the right kind of flexibility for adult learners.”

“I am prepared for life because of SUSS and I am grateful to the faculty who spent days and nights teaching us not just knowledge but also values. To my family and my friends who were always there, supporting me through this long and arduous phase in my life, thank you.”

SUSS Is About Balancing Economic Growth With Social Development

In Ong Ye Kung’s own speech, he stressed that the SUSS name was chosen because it highlights the need for “students to have a strong sense of community“, and that “we need to balance economic growth with social development.”

Wong’s speech probably captured this so well that Ong just had to give it a shoutout.

At the convocation, President Halimah Yacob, Patron of SUSS, and Indonesian President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, whose son graduated from SUSS, were in attendance.

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Victor Fong
Email: [email protected]