Could you tell us about your work with NUS Aerial Sports (e.g. any significant initiatives you led) and your motivations for initiating it?

NUS Aerial Sports (NAS) was the brainchild of my graduating seniors and I was lucky enough to be able to serve in the Presidential Cell, in its pioneering years! NAS is the first aerial and pole sports CCA in Singapore’s tertiary education scene. Because the nature of aerial and pole sports were also different from other sport CCAs, it was very challenging for us to formulate the Club’s activities and identity. To date, we’ve managed to make aerial and pole sports more accessible and affordable to all NUS students and address certain negative stereotypes that people might have towards the sport. Personally, I love pole sport and pole dance, it’s a hobby that empowers me a lot, so I really wanted to share my appreciation towards this sport with more people around me, and hopefully, this sport can speak to them as much as it speaks to me!

What was the impact of your project?

Thus far, more than hundreds of NUS students managed to try out and continue their pole and aerial sports journey through our subsidised courses and trial classes! I think NAS really laid the groundwork of normalising pole and aerial sports as a form of sport and art, rather than the typical misconception of pole and aerial sports being risqué, expensive, and difficult. We have partnered with many key players in the local pole and aerial sports, which also helped to cement our presence in the community and demonstrate the increasing interest university students have towards pole and aerial sports! Other universities have also reached out to us to learn more about the processes of setting up such a CCA!

What challenges did you face while working on it and what motivated you to keep going?

For sure, it was difficult to navigate through leading a brand new CCA that has virtually no other replicas in Singapore for us to take reference from. There was a lot of trial and error, many worries about the longevity of the CCA, and a lot of apologising too, as we make mistakes here and there. There were certainly low points (cried a little too), but I think that also comes with me being very emotionally attached to the CCA. What really kept me going was also knowing that I had my club members to take care of, and I didn’t want to let them down since they trusted me enough with this role right from the start and relied on me.

Are there any other projects you have worked/are working on?

While I was the President of NUS Aerial Sports, I also held the Presidential position for FASS Club and NUS Global Studies Club! Each of my team and I carried out many projects together throughout the year and I’m really very grateful for the opportunity to work alongside many hardworking and passionate friends for these! For the current AY, I’ll continue as the President of NUS Aerial Sports, so if you’re interested in that, I’ll be more than happy to share more and welcome you into the community ~

What are your fondest memories of NUS?

If I’m allowed to be cheesy… my fondest memories will definitely be the times spent with my FASS Club kids! Beyond pouring our blood, sweat and tears into different projects throughout our term (which I adore too, okay, I love working on student life projects), it’s also the little mundane things like ordering McDonalds into UTown at 5AM to accompany our friend for his suhoor, looking for six pairs of shark slippers all around FASS at midnight because the delivery man misplaced our order -- it’s these things that we did together that are all the more close to my heart!

What have you been up to since you stepped down as President?

I went on an exchange in Paris in the semester after I stepped down! I loved my time there… Europe just you wait… I’ll be back!! I’m currently interning at Project X, a non-profit organisation that works with sex workers in Singapore. I’m learning so many things at this internship, I actually love it so much even though I wasn’t even interested in the non-profit industry until very recently (I was pretty fixated on journalism previously), but the work I do now is really so fulfilling and meaningful for me that I can’t wait to explore more in this industry in the near future, both in my studies and at work!