In the first of a series of interviews with the five SIT students fronting the university’s Admissions Campaign 2015, we chat with Melissa Sim, who is currently reading a BSc in Physiotherapy at Trinity College Dublin (TCD). Sim shares with us her aspirations, the reasons why she took up a degree programme with SIT, as well as how she ended up becoming one of the ‘Famous Five’ for the university’s Admissions Campaign in 2015.
1) How do you think you are doing so far in your degree programme?
One semester has passed and I think I am coping quite well in my one-year degree ‘conversion’ programme. I will complete my degree programme in June 2015.
2) What are some of the current challenges that you face in your degree programme in Physiotherapy?
For me, one main challenge is adapting to the lecturers; be it in terms of the cultural nuances or the way they conduct lessons as they are all from Ireland.
3) I understand that your degree programme is sponsored. How did the sponsorship come about?
I was actually bonded to Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) as they sponsored my diploma in Physiotherapy when I was at Nanyang Polytechnic. Before taking up this degree programme, I worked for them for over a year before I decided to further my studies. So I approached TTSH to sponsor my degree which they did.
4) Why did you decide to further your studies and get a degree?
It felt really natural to further my studies: I thought it would be a good break from work while working towards becoming a better physiotherapist too.
5) What are your thoughts on companies and sponsorship programmes?
The upsides to sponsorships are that you get an allowance when you are studying and so become ‘financially independent’; you don’t have to rely on your parents, which for me, marks a huge transition to adulthood.
I do think however that some people might feel some kind of pressure when they are bonded; they might feel that they would have to live up to certain expectations of their employers. It doesn’t help that even if they did not like their work place or the environment, they would have to finish serving their bond. That is, unless they break the bond and make financial compensation in return.
That said, I definitely think sponsorship is a very good initiative as it gives employees a sense of security, given that they know there will be a job for them upon graduation. This will allow them to focus on their studies instead of becoming distracted with their financial situation. More companies should really look into sponsorships.
6) Why did you not decide to work and study part-time?
The Physiotherapy degree programme would take me one year to complete and I felt that I should just focus on my studies for a full year and get my degree once and for all. Honestly, I do feel that it would also quite a challenge to study and work at the same time, so I skipped that option.
7) Given that you hold a diploma in Physiotherapy, what do you think are some of the differences between learning Physiotherapy on a diploma level compared to that on a degree programme?
On the degree level, we learn things in detail. For example, for exercise prescription, we learn how to apply it to various populations on improving their treatment. Also, there are modules such as Global Health which allows us to look at the healthcare system as a whole, something we did not cover at the diploma level.
8) You were handpicked to be one of the faces fronting SIT’s Admissions Campaign this year. Tell us how it all got started.
(laughs) To date, I am still not quite sure how it all happened. I remembered not being able to participate in any of the activities organised by the university before semester started as I had work commitments. Then, out of the blue, I received a call from SIT; they asked me if I would be willing to participate in a photoshoot and I said ‘Ok’. The rest is history.
9) What did you enjoy most during the photoshoot?
I must admit I haven’t done anything like this before. It was an interesting experience; having the make-up artists fuss all over your hair and make-up. Also, meeting and interacting with the fellow students from the other programmes was fun; that was nice and not something that would have happened had the photoshoot not taken place as we are all studying at different locations in Singapore.
10) And what did you find most challenging about the shoot?
Contrary to what people think, it is actually quite difficult to pose and look ‘natural’ in front of the camera; that I had a real tough time doing. Thankfully, the people on the set were really friendly and personable, which made me feel a lot more at ease.
11) How do you think your life would change now that you are one of this year’s ‘Famous Five’?
Honestly I don’t think my life would change very much (other than seeing my face plastered on the SIT website and banners in school). (laughs again)
12) Finally, why did you pick SIT to take up a degree?
For one, SIT is the only local university that is offering a degree programme in Physiotherapy. Also, taking up this degree allows me to be close (geographically) to my family while getting a top-notch education, so it was an obvious choice!
