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    Scholarship Series: Daphne’s Leadership In Action

    School News

    16 Jan, 2023

    09 : 21

    • Q: You mentioned that being elected as Head Prefect is one of your greatest achievements. Why is it so important for you? 

       

      A: It’s important for me to represent my fellow classmates because I feel that many students come up with outstanding ideas to improve our school life and learning. I think that as a student leader, listening to the student body’s voice and suggestions is very important as these creative ideas can make the school a better place for all. I also think that being a student representative is a great opportunity to develop my skills and connections with many different people in the school community.  

       

       

      Q:What was the most memorable moment of being on the prefect team? 

       

      A: My most memorable period of time being on the prefect team definitely came from e-learning. Although everyone was somehow familiar with e-learning, it was still an uncomfortable change from seeing teachers and classmates face-to-face to suddenly having all the classes online. This created added challenges for the prefect team to deliver messages to students or facilitate school activities. 

       

      For me, it was a valuable experience to learn to achieve the balance between adapting to e-learning and effectively fulfilling our prefect team responsibilities, such as coming up with new ideas for house competitions during the e-learning period. I also became more flexible in planning to make things happen in unpredictable scenarios.

       

       

      Q: If you could choose one C.A.R.E.S. value that is most important to you, what would it be and why? 

      *C.A.R.E.S. stands for Communication, Action, Respect, Equity and Sustainability.

       

      A: All of the C.A.R.E.S. values are interrelated with one another, but I believe that “Action” is the most important one. To make a difference, taking action is the first step. Even if everyone in the community makes a tiny contribution, it could make a huge difference in the end as everyone is working in a group effort. There are many kinds of actions that include other aspects of the C.A.R.E.S. values in the process as well. 

       

      For example, actions to provide community service carry the value of “Respect” and “Equity” through working with others and ensuring equality in different situations to bring a positive impact overall. That is why I believe that “Action” is most important to me. 

       

       

      Q: What was your favourite CCA and why? 

       

      A: My favorite CCA is Model United Nations (MUN) because it allows me to develop my debating, quick thinking, writing and public speaking skills. When I was first introduced to MUN, I was hesitant to participate because of the complex procedures and rules in place. I was also very nervous about public speaking as I often became shy or withdrawn in front of audiences. 

       

      However, I quickly got used to everything and began learning at a fast pace, getting over my fear of public speaking through attending various conferences and learning from more experienced delegates. I realized that MUN was not simply a debating CCA to improve public speaking skills, but also a platform to make new connections while learning about the historical context between issues which I would not have thought of before. I learned about the importance of background knowledge through debating complex issues. 

       

      In order to fully understand the problem and why it developed the way it did, I needed a deeper understanding of countries’ stances and perspectives. This helped me develop and shape ideas more clearly, which in turn allowed me to improve my quick thinking and therefore become more confident and articulated in expressing my ideas. 

       

      Through MUN, I’ve developed all these skills and met many amazing people along the way whom I have been able to learn from and stay connected with.

       

       

      Q: Do you enjoy volunteering and community service? If so, why? 

       

      A: Volunteering and community service is very important to me because I think that through participating and helping those in need around us, we are slowly making the whole community a better place overall through our efforts. I genuinely enjoy doing these things as I get to see the smiles on people’s faces at the end of it all. 

       

      At the same time, I also learn new skills such as how to run a social media account for an animal shelter and many more. I believe that doing community service is not just beneficial to the people whom we serve, it also enriches our own lives through these experiences.  

       

       

      Q: Any ideas of what you want to study in the future? What is your dream profession? 

       

      A: In the future, I want to pursue a career path based on my interests. Currently, I’m most interested in Humanities and Language-focused subjects such as History, so I’ll most likely keep working in that direction. However, I’m open to exploring more areas to find what best suits me before making decisions on my major. 

       

       

      Q: What advice would you give yourself 5 years ago when you were in Primary school? 

       

      A: There’s a lot of advice I’d like to give to my primary school self, but one thing I’d say is to improve my efficiency and focus because that makes a lot of difference in my work quality and how well I utilize my time. 

       

      When I reflect on how I did my work, I was definitely not the best student, always giving 70-85% of my best effort and sometimes getting distracted by other things while studying, wasting time which could have otherwise been used to do more learning or activities. 

       

      Looking back, I would tell myself to give 100% effort every time, which would not only help me achieve better results, but also give me more time to do the things I enjoy. Now, I am becoming more aware of the importance of time management as my workload has gotten heavier. I have learned to be more efficient and productive by planning my schedule earlier with a clear completion time and sticking to the plan.

       

      Let's congratulate Daphne for her enormous success and a fruitful and brilliant future!