85th Anniversary Resilience Run

Day of Fun and Excitement to Celebrate Faculties’ 85th Anniversary

In commemoration of their 85th anniversary, the Faculties of Arts and Social Sciences, Dentistry and Science, jointly organised the 85th Anniversary Resilience Run on Saturday, 29 March 2014. Comprising a fund raising campaign to help the disabled community in NUS, the Run symbolises the resilience and determination of the three faculties as well as special guest Dr William Tan in overcoming various challenges over the years to become the success stories they are today. The Guest of Honour was NUS Provost Prof Tan Eng Chye.

Dr William Tan, Faculty of Science alumnus and NUS Distinguished Alumni Service Award recipient was an inspiration to everyone who attended the run that day. Starting at six-thirty in the morning, Dr Tan proceeded on his plege to do an 85-kilometer run over five gruelling hours, largely under the hot morning sun, in his specially-equipped paraplegic tricycle. That was actually an astounding 213 rounds on the running track!

More than 500 participants took part in the run while another 300 staff, students, alumni and their family members turned up to cheer for them from the grandstands. The carnival ambience to the event was unmistaken – the live emceeing coupled with music, food vendors, photo booth, balloon sculpting and face painting was a delight for the young and old alike.

Deans of the three Faculties running together.

A highlight of the run was when the three Deans from the three faculties ran together with the flags bearing their respective anniversary logos. Staff, students and alumni also came together to join the run and root for their Deans as the flags came running by.

(From left to right) Prof Brenda Yeoh, Assoc Prof Shirlena Huang and Assoc Prof T/C Chang cheering for the runners.

The excitement level reached a climax towards the end with the relay fun run. Each of the three faculties fielded a team comprising faculty members, students and alumni, to run the symbolic 8.5km relay, or 21 rounds on the running track. They were joined by teams from Geography (Mangrove Lab), Biological Sciences Department and the Food and Science Technology Programme. It was an inspirational moment when all the relay teams, including Guest of Honour Prof Tan who gamely joined the relay, ran alongside Dr Tan on his paraplegic tricycle towards the finishing line amid all the cheering from their friends and families.

Prof Brenda Yeoh and A/P TC Chang sharing a moment with Prof Tan Eng Chye (right).

“It was not only a fun and exciting day for runners, families and friends, but a meaningful way to mark our Faculties’ anniversary” said Assoc Prof TC Chang, FASS Vice Dean (Student Life) and co-chair of the event. “More importantly, the event helped to create greater awareness and support for the special-needs student community in NUS.”

All proceeds from the run will go towards the NUS Enablers, a non-profit student-interest group aimed at helping special needs students to integrate into campus life through an extensive range of activities and projects.

To find out more about NUS Enablers, please go to their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/NUS.Enablers

For more pictures, check out the FASS Facebook page here: http://www.facebook.com/nusfass

Some of the FASS team members pose in front of the wish board where participants penned their hopes and dreams in commemoration of the Faculties’ 85 years.

FASS Deanery, Faculty members, students, alumni, Provost Prof Tan Eng Chye and Dr William Tan – all giving thumbs up!

This story first appeared on 3 April 2014 in FASS News.