{"id":12894,"date":"2023-07-17T10:58:49","date_gmt":"2023-07-17T02:58:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fass.nus.edu.sg\/swk\/?p=12894"},"modified":"2023-07-17T10:58:49","modified_gmt":"2023-07-17T02:58:49","slug":"helping-others-help-better-how-this-social-work-graduate-found-his-calling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fass.nus.edu.sg\/news\/2023\/07\/17\/helping-others-help-better-how-this-social-work-graduate-found-his-calling\/","title":{"rendered":"Helping Others Help Better: How this Social Work Graduate Found his Calling"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n<p><strong>IN BRIEF | 8 min read<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<ul>\r\n<li><strong>While serving his National Service in the Singapore Police Force, Sim Jian Wen saw a side of the country that he had only ever seen in the movies \u2013 one involving loan sharks, violence and the occasional substance abuse. So he took the leap to pursue Social Work at the National University of Singapore (NUS).<\/strong><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<hr \/>\r\n<figure id=\"attachment_12901\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-12901\" style=\"width: 1024px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/fass.nus.edu.sg\/swk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/30\/2023\/07\/nuscommencement-fassjianwenprofile-1024x576.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-12901\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><strong>Sim Jian Wen graduated with a Bachelor of Social Science with Honours in Social Work on 15 July 2023. He believes that a life lived in the service of others is most meaningful.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n<p>While serving his National Service in the Singapore Police Force, Sim Jian Wen saw a side of the country that he had only ever seen in the movies \u2013 one involving loan sharks, violence and the occasional substance abuse.<\/p>\r\n<p>\u201cI had never seen that side of Singapore before, but I found a lot of meaning in helping them,\u201d he said.<\/p>\r\n<p>At the time, Jian Wen had already secured a university\u2019s offer to major in Business. But his experience made him re-evaluate his goals, opening his eyes to the work that needed to be done to uplift disadvantaged families.<\/p>\r\n<p>\u201cI often empathised with both the victims and the perpetrators of crimes, and naturally found myself thinking about how to help families beyond law enforcement,\u201d he noted.<\/p>\r\n<p>And so he took the leap to pursue Social Work at the National University of Singapore (NUS).<\/p>\r\n<p>\u201cPeople were shocked that I gave up a mainstream course for something more niche. But a life lived in the service of others is most meaningful,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\r\n<p><strong>Power of Peer Support<br \/><\/strong>He has no regrets. At NUS\u2019 Department of Social Work \u2013 the first of its kind in Singapore when it opened in 1952 \u2013 he relished the insight he gained into what it means to serve the needs of the community. He had the chance to research real-world issues, as well as enrol in \u201ccomprehensive and hands-on\u201d courses.<\/p>\r\n<figure id=\"attachment_12900\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-12900\" style=\"width: 1024px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/fass.nus.edu.sg\/swk\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/30\/2023\/07\/nuscommencement-fassjianwen-1024x576.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-12900\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><strong>Jian Wen (far left) with his Ridge View Residential College (RVRC) Orientation Group during an outing to the Southern Ridges back in 2019.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n<p>The shift to online lessons in 2020 meant that he had difficulty forming friendships in his first year.\u00a0Thankfully, the 25-year-old found camaraderie in Ridge View Residential College (RVRC) where he planned events and welfare initiatives as part of the House Committee and Peer Mentorship Programme.<\/p>\r\n<p>Inspired by stories of social workers helping others, he also led his college\u2019s new Peer Student Supporters (PSS) group to promote mental wellness. As chairperson, he wanted to \u201chelp others help better\u201d by equipping peers with the tools to support the community \u2013 for example through mock peer support sessions and by empowering them to run their own mental health events, such as \u201cMindfulness, Motivation and Matcha\u201d.<\/p>\r\n<p><strong>Finding Strengths, Gaining Skills<br \/><\/strong>Besides taking on leadership positions, Jian Wen participated in the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/rvrc.nus.edu.sg\/rvrc-programme\/\">RVRC Programme<\/a>, a General Education programme at his college. Through the \u201cWorkplace Readiness\u201d module, he learnt that his strengths lay in adaptability and strategic thinking.<\/p>\r\n<p>Meanwhile, the social work module \u201cValues and Skills in Helping Relationships\u201d taught him how to communicate empathetically and sensitively.<\/p>\r\n<p>These skills helped him thrive during his social work internships at Ang Mo Kio Family Service Centre Community Services and the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF). During his placements, he provided casework support and conducted research for a range of cases and clients, and learnt first-hand how to contribute to the wellbeing of society.<\/p>\r\n<p>\u201cIt was a great way to use the social work skills and knowledge that I gained from my degree in a community setting,\u201d he said.<\/p>\r\n<p>While Jian Wen has taken on two social work internships, he also has a second major in psychology and a minor in economics. He quipped: \u201cHaving the flexibility was a blessing because I could choose what I was interested in. But it was also a curse because I didn\u2019t know what to commit to!\u201d<\/p>\r\n<p><strong>Paying it Forward<br \/><\/strong>He credits financial aid from NUS with allowing him to make the most of his time at university. Thanks to the Higher Education Bursary and NUS Donated Bursary, he could lead a vibrant campus life without burdening his family.<\/p>\r\n<p>Bolstered by the support, he ventured out of his comfort zone to seek new experiences.<\/p>\r\n<p>\u201cI wasn\u2019t someone who enjoyed telling others what to do, but somehow I found myself in multiple positions where I had to lead,\u201d said Jian Wen, who will graduate with Honours (Highest Distinction). \u201cThese experiences have been important in helping me to grow.\u201d<\/p>\r\n<p>The role played by social workers has evolved through the decades. Today, Singapore\u2019s population is larger and generally older, and to meet the needs of this changing demographic, people who pursue social work must be nimble and resilient.<\/p>\r\n<p>Jian Wen, who saw first-hand the importance of social work at the height of the COVID pandemic, is up for the challenge. He will get to put his research, leadership and social work experiences to good use when he starts a full-time job in policy and research at MSF.<\/p>\r\n<p>Underpinning all of this is his desire to pay forward the help he received. \u201cI wanted to learn more about policy and research in the government, because it\u2019s such a big force that impacts social workers and clients,\u201d he said.<\/p>\r\n<p>\u201cMost of all, I hope to make an impact on the lives of low-income families, and empower them in their efforts to uplift themselves.\u201d<\/p>\r\n<article><hr \/><\/article>\r\n<p><em>This story\u00a0first appeared in <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/news.nus.edu.sg\/helping-others-help-better-how-this-social-work-graduate-found-his-calling\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">NUSnews<\/a><em> on 17 July 2023, as <i>part of its coverage of Commencement 2023, which celebrates the achievements of NUS graduates from the Class of 2023. For more on Commencement, read <\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/news.nus.edu.sg\/?h=1&amp;t=Commencement\"><i>stories and graduate profiles<\/i><\/a><i>, check out the\u00a0<\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nus.edu.sg\/commencement\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><i>official Commencement website<\/i><\/a><i>, or look up and tag\u00a0<strong>#NUS2023<\/strong> on NUS social media channels!<\/i><\/em><\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>While serving his National Service in the Singapore Police Force, Sim Jian Wen saw a side of the country that he had only ever seen in the movies \u2013 one involving loan sharks, violence and the occasional substance abuse. So he took the leap to pursue Social Work at the National University of Singapore (NUS).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":12901,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,26],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12894","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","category-visible"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fass.nus.edu.sg\/swk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12894","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fass.nus.edu.sg\/swk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fass.nus.edu.sg\/swk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fass.nus.edu.sg\/swk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fass.nus.edu.sg\/swk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12894"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/fass.nus.edu.sg\/swk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12894\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12904,"href":"https:\/\/fass.nus.edu.sg\/swk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12894\/revisions\/12904"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fass.nus.edu.sg\/swk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12901"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fass.nus.edu.sg\/swk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12894"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fass.nus.edu.sg\/swk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12894"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fass.nus.edu.sg\/swk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12894"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}