Humans of NIE is an initiative introduced by the 30th Trainee Teachers’ Club. For this initiative, the 30th TTC has interviewed various members of the NIE community. These interviews will be featured on VOICES and the @humans.of.nie Instagram page. Snippets of these exclusive interviews on @humans.of.nie, while full access to these interview transcripts will only be available on VOICES. Do look out for special messages from our interviewees to you! The 30th TTC hopes that through Humans of NIE, the different members of NIE’s many sub-communities will be able to get to know each other better.
Our Human of NIE for this issue of VOICES is Alex. Alex Lim Tze Ming is the current President of the 30th Trainee Teachers’ Club. He is a Year 2 student teacher in the Bachelor of Science (Education) programme.
Q: What do you like about NIE?
A: I really like how class sizes are small and how much cheaper the food is at NIE canteen!
Q: What is your favourite place in NIE?
A: I would say the Clubs’ Room, which I think I may actually spend more time there than in my classrooms for lessons some weeks haha. It is part of the student hub, in which the 30th TTC is working on revamping to make it a more vibrant place for students in NIE to go to!
Q: What is your most memorable experience in NIE? / What is the fondest memory you have of NIE?
A: I have so many memorable memories in NIE that I don’t even know which to choose! I think in the 2 years that I have dedicated towards serving the NIE community in TTC, I have experienced a lot and there are various things that I will always remember. I think that despite the amount of time I spend serving in TTC, my most memorable experiences still comes from being in TTC itself. Whenever I am able to do something different or new that benefits the student community, the whole process of being able to make that positive change would be very memorable to me.
Q: Is there anyone you are grateful for in the NIE community?
A: I am really grateful to my friends in NIE, whom have helped me in one way or another. I am really grateful that almost my entire batch of TSP students participated in NIE TOP 2020, which I took on the role of chairperson then! It was a really memorable experience, especially with the support of my fellow friends in my batch, who worked together with me planning for NIE’s first virtual orientation, in the midst of having so many plans changed due to the Covid-19 pandemic! I am also very grateful for the staff of OTE, namely May and Filzah as well as Dr Chow, who have been working very hard alongside the 30th TTC to support student life activities in NIE! They have been very open to discussions on how things can be improved and I am very appreciative of the opportunity that to be able to make various positive changes to the NIE community.
Q: Who means the most to you in the NIE community? Why?
A: Too many people to name!
Q: Is there an interesting life experience that you would like to share?
A: I remember Eric from OTE was introducing to me the idea of Geocaching to me and suggested it as a possible activity that could be used in Orientation. It was my first time hearing about it so I didn’t really understand what he meant. As such, he brought me out on his car to someplace out of NTU to do Geocaching and we tried to hunt for hidden geocaches. We spent about 1 hour searching for geocaches, successfully finding 1! It was such a fun yet unforgettable experience which I don’t think I will ever forget!
Q: How is it like being president of your club? What have you learnt in your term?
A: I think that being in a student club in the midst of a pandemic, no matter your position, is not an easy task. Everyone has had to learn to be adaptable to the restrictions we had to follow due to Safe Management Measures. In the 30th TTC, every event that had been previously done had to be relooked at to ensure that we adhered to Safe Management Measures. As a result, we had our first virtual Clubs’ Awards and Investiture, while events like Merchandise Sales and Welfare Initiatives had to use collection slots for students to be able to enjoy these traditional events. We also spearheaded various new initiatives such as a Back To School Week for NIE Students, Collaborations with Overseas Universities and worked with other faculties to organise the first virtual Inter School E-Games. Outside of events, the 30th TTC also looked at improving the academic experience of student teachers as well as improving the administrative processes for all sub-clubs under our purview. I think that we have really accomplished a lot despite facing various challenges and setbacks, and I am truly proud of being part of the 30th TTC.
Q: What would you like to say to your club members?
A: To the 30th TTC, thank you so much for working so hard in your entire term being in the 30th TTC. I think that it is really respectable for you to want to step up to make positive change to the NIE community, and that we have achieved a great deal in which you were a part of! I hope that the whole journey has enabled you to grow as a person, despite the various issues you may have faced along the way. I am really thankful for every single one of you in the 30th TTC who have contributed, no matter how big or small, and I hope that your time in the 30th TTC will always be remembered with bittersweet memories that you will cherish.
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