I have attended UWCSEA East since K1 (back in Ang Mo Kio), I am very familiar with this school’s mission to make education a force to unite people, nations and cultures for peace and a sustainable future. Throughout my time at this school, I feel connected with the school’s mission and the goals that the UWC body strives for.

Throughout this year, I feel like I’ve been trying to grow as a leader. The main instance of this goal is my involvement in CultuRama, namely, being named as the co-chair of the production. Throughout the process of creating the show, I’ve learnt a lot about myself, especially how I function in large group situations. I find that I’m not as eloquent in these larger groups compared to when I’m in smaller groups, and my point/intention may be muddled by my stumbled speech. Additionally, I’ve found it quite challenging to lead a project in which I’m not an expert, which has forced me out of my comfort zone, causing me to figure out how to learn selectively efficiently.

This year, I made the SEASAC Rugby team. I found it quite challenging as I felt quite a lot of pressure to prove that I belonged on the team, which caused my performance to drop as well (I couldn’t seem to catch the ball for a good two months there). But once we went to Malaysia and won our second tournament as a team, I felt my performance picked up and I was a valuable contributing member of the team. I was looking forward to our main tournament, SEASAC, which was going to be hosted at UWC East this year, but the COVID-19 crisis threw a wrench in those plans. Hopefully, I’ll get to participate in a SEASAC next year.

As this year’s gone on, I feel like I’ve developed my knowledge and passion for music in many ways. I’ve branched out to different genres (mainly jazz), and I’ve developed my musical understanding (theory-wise and performance-wise).

In all, I feel that the 2019-20 academic year has been one of growth, and I look forward to taking my first steps in the IB curriculum in August.