An interview with Terence

We meet with Terence, a year 2 Applied Chemistry student who took ES2007S - Professional Communication in AY10/11 Sem 2 to find out more about the module.

Hi Terence, tell us why did you decide to take this module?

I took this module initially because I was short of 4MCs and I needed to overload one more module for this semester. I looked through all the modules available and there were only a few that could fit nicely into my timetable and one of it was……you’ve guess it ES2007S. I did lots of research regarding this module, looking up Module-review.com, consulting seniors who had taken it before. What I found out was that general consensus for it was a great one although it comes with a heavy workload. I though this module should be useful for me especially in the next semester as I will be going for my industrial attachment so I thought to myself why not? Feeling eager and enthusiastic, I approached my friend to tell them about this module and to “psycho” them to take it together with me. “Crazy ah!” was the reply that I got mostly but I didn’t dampen my spirits because I am confident that I will be able to do it no matter how tough it gets. And so here I am! (*smiles)

You are taking 6 modules this semester. How did you manage to cope with all?

It wasn’t much of a difficult during the start of the semester, but as the weeks progressed, I could feel the stress on me with the increasing overall workload and the weekly assignments that I have to submit for this module. In addition, I also have my hall commitments to juggle with. At I point in time, I began to doubt myself if I would be able to complete this module. There were simply too many things to do and too many datelines to meet. “Was I really crazy to have taken such a module?” Thank goodness I have the support from my closer friends who were there rooting for me as well as my classmates whom we all share the same woes. In the end, we managed to tide it through!

Tell us something interesting about the class.

I would say that my class is a really unique one with people coming from different faculties (Science & Engineering) and also schools (Ella who is from NTU!).  My class has two professional belly dancers (Fahmi & Kelvin), one slowpoke (Aoyun), a pair of siblings (Shawn & Lisu), a bee ( Akash), Snow White (Elaine), a really hyperactive girl (Jacelyn), Night fury! (Doris) and many more.

Your class sounds like a circus! Haha! Is there anything you don’t like about the module?

Will Miss Lim get to read this? (*laughs) Actually I find 8am lessons to be a chore after a while. One really needs a lot of motivation to wake up early in the morning to attend a lesson that’s not a core module. I also don’t like the tables and chairs in the classroom. It is not really suitable for discussion. Other than that, I really enjoyed the module. Never had I attended a class that is so interactive and student friendly. It is like reliving secondary and JC school days!

So which girl do you find most attractive in class?

(*Blushes and laughs) Why do you ask me this kind of question!? All the girls in class are attractive in their own unique way. If you are asking about bubbliness I would say its hyperactive girl. If you are talking about skin complexion, I think Snow White will definitely win. Intelligence level would be Ella and sports champ would be Doris.

I heard that Shawn has a secret crush on you. What do you think of him?

(*Laughs out really loud) Okay… (* Breaks out into a continuous laughter) Hahaha, I’m so sorry. I’m not sure if he really has a secret crush on me but come to think of it, he is the Top Commentator of my blog so there might be some truth to it (* Laughs out loud again). Well I think Shawn is a really great guy. I think he is very cool – he doesn’t talk much but his comments are very interesting. He sometimes stares into blank space though. But I think he is a very friendly person and also a good friend to have.

Which features of the module did you like the most?

I think that would have to be blogging. I enjoy reading other people’s blog post to find out more about their experiences and how they feel about life itself. Blogging also allows me to express my creativity and thoughts in a written form.

If you were given a chance to choose your teammates again for oral presentation, who would you pick?

Wow! Can I not answer this question please?

I promise not to let anyone know.

Okay. If I were to choose again, I think I would to work with Doris, Aoyun and Chen Chen. I have worked with Doris and Aoyun previously and I know that Doris is a very hardworking person and Aoyun is a very good presenter with her own style of presenting and expression. As for Chen Chen, I have never worked with him before, but I have this feeling that he is a very thoughtful and detailed person who will be able to take care of all the nitty-gritty parts in a proposal. I think this team will be equally awesome as well. There are still others whom I have never worked with and it’s a shame that I don’t get a chance to do so.

What is your greatest takeaway from this module?

There’s so many! From being able to craft out professional cover letters and resumes to writing a proper proposal to creating awesome slides and speak confidently in front of an audience. All these transferable skills are extremely valuable to me when I am out in the working world. But the greatest takeaway that I got would be the friendships that had been forged and the interpersonal skills that I had picked up from this module.  

Any last words?

I want to express my gratitude to Miss Lim for being such a wonderful tutor who is so ever encouraging and understanding. I also want to thank my classmates for making these 13 weeks an unforgettable and memorable one.  I wish those who will be graduating all the best in their future endeavors and good luck to everyone for the coming exams. I will miss each and every one of you! And to those who are still deciding if they should take this module or not, I would recommend you taking if you are seeking an alternative to boring lectures, to improve your interpersonal/writing skills and if you live on challenges.

Terence has successfully applied for an internship with Exxonmobil and will be starting his term this coming July. By Terter