As a programme, the CTPCLC has done a great job in giving me the academic foundations and practical experience of what it means to work in communities. The most important thing that I’ve taken away from the CTPCLC that I still hold to be true to this day is that doing good is hard work. It reminds me that the passion and wanting to do good must also be coupled with good ideas and a strong resolve to see it through.

I was introduced to the CTPCLC through other like-minded people who were already in the programme prior to me. Since then, I never regretted my decision and was introduced to so many inspiring individuals, each with their own interests and different ways of looking at the strength of communities. During my time there, I was grateful to have been given the opportunity to involve myself in two projects. One with Clementi Trivelis Residents’ Committee relating to a volunteer management system. The other with the Asian Philanthropy Circle to carry out research on a proposed Assisted Living Facility. I was also involved in the Connect Tuition Programme as both a tutor, committee member and later directed the program.

Currently, I am doing a master’s in development studies at The Graduate Institute, Geneva, specializing in the mobilities of people and goods across spaces. Recently, I concluded an internship at the United Nations Industrial Development Organization. These experiences have helped me bring the knowledge and experiences gained at the CTPCLC towards a wider, perhaps more international context. I have therefore been more involved in policy work. Perhaps by its very nature, policy work may at times force one to think in ‘big picture’ terms. It is therefore important every now and then to situate the effects of policy back to the individual and the community, something that I have been sensitized to perhaps due to the CTPCLC. In the future, I hope to continue my career in the domain of public policy, in particular, something relating to community development as well. Indeed, the CTPCLC has played a part in influencing this choice