Author: wilms35888@gapps.uwcsea.edu.sg

LO7 : Project Week Final Reflection.

During our precarious trip in the Bornean jungle, there was a particular instance in which our group faced an ethical decision. Following our disbelief at the conditions we were left in by our service partners, we were slightly uncertain about our safety for the trip. From inadequate water supply, to sleeping conditions that exposed us to the wildlife, we were strongly concerned about our well-being. Following the infiltration of a very poisonous spider in one of our group members’ tent, we were uncertain whether we should report these conditions to our school, and face the possibility of having our trip cancelled, and our immediate return to Singapore. I, as the group leader, had to put the safety of our group ahead of everything else, and decided to go ahead and make the call to International SOS (partner of our school) in asking advice on the issue. Luckily, all group members agreed with me, and I feel that my decision was the right one as I had to ensure the safe return of all 4 members. ISOS told us not to worry, and our trip was not cancelled – thankfully – and will forever remain a memorable experience.

LO6 : Project Week Final Reflection.

Following our trip to Borneo, Malaysia, and our assistance with the TRCRC, a lot of fallacies and misconceptions were cleared up around the issue of conservation. Initially, through research, we believed logging was the predominant source of deforestation in the Bornean jungle, however, we were better taught about the origin of this logging. Our group learned that Western corporations, not locals, were responsible for the destruction of wildlife on the island, to increase their revenue from the palm oil industry. Copious amounts of palm oil are then distributed down the supply chain to chocolate manufacturers, such as Snickers, Kit-Kat, Mars, and Maltesers, which use palm oil to increase the shelf life of their products, as it is a cheap preservative. We became more aware of how these companies also inhibited the success of conservation agencies through expansive programmes, governmental bribes, and manipulation of farmers to decrease the cost margins for the palm oil, while increasing their profits from the confectionary industry.

Our impact was, despite our forestry work on-site, the return to Singapore to spread this news. I now strongly stand against the confectionary industry, and have spread my knowledge to the greater UWC community, as well as my family.

LO6 : Project Week Interim Reflection.

Approaching our trip in the upcoming weeks, our group and I have begun delving into copious amounts of research, from an external perspective, to learn more about the issues that face conservation in Borneo, and globally, so that we are prepared to adequately discuss and present ideas to our service partners once we arrive. Conservation in Borneo is a particularly sensitive issue. From the research that we have obtained, logging is the predominant threat to the rainforest and its flora and fauna. Farmers clear land to make space for their plantations, and as such, burn down large patches of land, which, in some cases, turn into uncontrolled fires that damage even greater areas. Leading up to project week, we are trying to learn as much as we can about the ethical implications about ex-situ conservation. As we are only in the research phase, we have had no first-hand ethical implications with the issue yet, but we are looking forward to the possibility of having a positive impact by helping the TRCRC restore sections of the rainforest.

LO5 : Culturama Head of AV and Music Reflection.

During this 3-season process, I had to collaborate with numerous stakeholders to ensure the proper running of the annual UWCSEA Culturama show. I worked not only with students in the committee, but teachers as well, in addition to the dance leaders, AV maintenance crew in our school, and head of departments. I feel that my openness and ability to responsibly communicate my ideas has facilitated my collaboration with others, and, to be entirely honest, I felt no challenges when working with others. There were no challenges, besides the sharing of ideas, and if minor disagreements came up, they were usually rapidly resolved. 

In the future, to be a more effective team player, I could consider the implications of certain decisions with regards to more than a single individual, and consider multiple stakeholders to avoid confusions.

LO5 : Design with AMK Minds Season 2 Reflection

Over the course of my service commitment with AMK Minds, I worked with a client that took care and helped develop the skills of those mentally impaired. There were certain group members that were able to communicate, others, however, could not and made certain aspects of the service quite difficult. Although our service was focused on developing the motor skills of the clients – through various arts and crafts activities – we tried to help improve their communication skills as well in order to lay a foundation for future projects with AMK Minds. Although quite difficult at the start, once our group became accustomed to the regular clients and began to learn their habits the service became easy in terms of understanding the wants and needs of each client. Furthermore, the manager of AMK Minds was very understanding and often helped with the organization of activities.

Ultimately, the collective work with our group, our in-school supervisor and the external AMK manager resulted in the smooth running of the service. Without effective communication and collaboration, I strongly doubt we would have had as much success connecting with the clients as we did. In the future, I believe I need to take a more proactive role in the planning stages of the service and try to find effective alternatives to the regular activities we have.

LO4 : 2019 U18 FIBA European Cup

Being selected as one the highest-ranked players in Romania, to participate in the 2019 FIBA European Cup was the greatest honour imaginable. Not only played in my home country, but I had the opportunity to show close friends and family exactly what I had been working on for the past years. 

Initially, attending school outside of my native homeland left me unaccustomed to not only the style of play of European basketball, but I felt somewhat disconnected from my teammates as well. I was not used to the physicality of the play, the intensive nature of the defense, the difficulty of the workouts, which left me, at times, looking less able than other players who have been doing certain drills for years, whereas I, approached them for the first time. However, with the end goal in my progress, I managed to survive through four, intensive weeks of training camp, and managed to connect on an emotional level with my teammates, of whom I felt very distanced from to begin with. I made very close friends, in particular with some of our “bigs”, and I strongly felt our relationship develop on the court, as we became more comfortable playing with each other.

Being one of the youngest on the team, I felt my role was to comply and be led, rather than assume a position of leadership myself. It was a different dynamic to the one I was used to here, at UWCSEA, where I was a leader, where I was a scorer. I felt myself transitioning to more of a “team player”, leading certain games in assists or steals, rather than points. Nevertheless, I did endure severe hardships with adapting to this new style of play, and I am looking forward to attending the 2020 European Cup, where, perhaps, I can have a more impactful role.

LO4 : 2018-19 U19 Men’s League Basketball

Taking part, and being a ‘rookie’ in the Men’s League Basketball team, has proved to be one of the most difficult challenges I have faced throughout the beginning of the year. Every Wednesday night, our U19 team faces various other teams in league games, against players a lot older than us (thus, also more experienced and stronger than us). Dealing with the physicality, injuries, failures, and defeats has definitely tested my resilient nature.

I showed perseverance throughout, by working through my disappointments, continuously working on improving my athletic abilities regardless of the tough defeats I faced. This meant hour upon hours of work within the weight room, working on getting stronger and more mobile. I continued, as well, to practice and review the mistakes I made in previous games, during my own training times outside of our regular practices. Most importantly, I demonstrated resilience by keeping a positive attitude on the court with my teammates, encouraging them regardless of my personal frustrations, and helped to keep tensions low between each other. I believe this is vital for our long-term success as a team.

Nevertheless, one of the biggest challenges included maintaining my levels of motivation. Many times, it felt easy to give up, or not show up to games, blaming my knee issues for my absence. However, I kept reminding myself that the only way to end up playing Division-1 Basketball at University level would be to persevere through these challenges. This idea continued to drive me and proved to be my strongest source of motivation during tough games.

However, I also have my fantastic teammates to thank for keeping me motivated, especially the Seniors in the team. Sharing this defeat collectively helped lighten the burden on my shoulders and brought us closer together as a team.

Basketball, although being a team sport, is strongly influenced by individual performance as well. I truly believe that during games where I came more motivated and persevered through in-game challenges (such as turnovers, blocks, missed shots, etc), our team did better as a unit, and perhaps drew scores closer together.

Various issues did arise, however, affecting my commitment level. My recurring knee pain was a constant challenge, requiring a lot of attention and care. Perhaps this sometimes stirred me away from my goals, focusing on keeping myself healthy for our regular U19 A Season rather than the Men’s League games themselves.

Overall, I hope that over the next few weeks I can bring the same energy to the basketball court, and be increasingly positive and motivated not only for myself but for the success of my team.

LO3 : Design with AMK Minds Season 1 Reflection

As head and chair of this particular service, for the first time especially, I felt I had a particularly important role in the planning and organisation of service activities. As our service partners, AMK Minds, focused on rehabilitating and assisting their clients in the development of their motor skills (particularly in individuals with mild to severe mental disabilities) the activities I had to plan were sensitive in nature. 

For our first season, my co-chair and I decided to implement a progressive series of activities that would simultaneously challenge the clients, in a supportive and entertaining way, as well as help develop their motor skills. We stuck to an “arts and crafts”-themed idea, and for each week, planned different workshops and stations where small groups of the clients could go and work at; we had ink painting areas, magnetic piece buildings, all sorts of minor, yet fun, activities as well, where the clients had a chance to explore and develop their creativity. In the last weeks of the service, the workshops and small groups dissipated, and we transitioned to activities involving the group as a whole. Often times, predominantly based on time (as there were transportation delays) and the energy of the clients, we had to adapt our activities to cater to their needs, which proved to be a difficult challenge in such a short period of time. Over time, my co-chair and our help from middle school began to adapt and react much faster to client needs, and, without a doubt, became “experts” at improvisation and adaptability when needed.

LO2 : 2019-20 U19 Basketball Reflection.

The 2019-20 U19 Basketball season ended on a painful, disappointing note, not only for our team, but for every team in the region. Outbreaks of the novel Coronavirus cancelled the main sporting tournament in Singapore, and the main challenge was the heartbreak that came with this abrupt end to my senior, last-ever, season with this team. The season itself was challenging; a team that relied heavily on seniors from the 2018-19 season, we were greatly understaffed, and had no depth in our bench. However, despite these shortcomings, I felt our team persisted through these challenges and managed to, to an extent, silence the negativity and rumours that surrounded our season. Through numerous home game victories, we persisted in re-branding ourselves. Challenges that I could not foresee, or overcome, was the pain that would come with the cancellation of our season due to the virus. While younger players did not see this as a terrible loss, players in their last seasons here at UWC were rather upset, and dealing with the frustration was a challenge as a captain. Nevertheless, we were able to come to terms with the cancellation of our SEASAC, and now look back on our season with less regret, but now, with a more critical eye, looking to see what we could’ve changed, or done differently, to not have hedged all our bets on one single tournament.

LO2 : Training Camp with Romanian National Team.

Over the winter break of this senior year, I decided to take a large risk, challenging myself to undertake the experience of professional athlete life by attending a 3-week training camp with European Pro-League players, trained by Igor Giorgev, a renowned Macedonian coach.

These weeks were, without a doubt, the toughest of my life. Training for six to seven hours a day, in the heart of Bucharest, without my family of friends, was an extreme challenge. From finding out where the closest meal places were, to being pushed by older, more experienced plays, everything was new. It was something I had never done before, and it strongly pushed me out of my comfort zone, in a city I was completely unfamiliar with. 

I overtook these challenges simply by learning to become flexible and adaptable, one of the biggest assets any aspiring student-athlete can have, and by resisting the intensity of the training by searching out recovery programmes in my area. Ultimately, I set myself up for even greater challenges in the future, and I now look forward to similar experiences.