At the start of the new year, SFCCA scholars studying or working at various places returned to Singapore to reunite with their families and celebrate the Lunar New Year. SFCCA Scholars Network (SSN) took this opportunity to organise a dinner event on the evening of 11 February. Deputy Secretary-General of SFCCA and Member of the Scholarship Management Committee, Mr Pok Cheng Chong, Executive Director of SFCCA, Mr Mark Mah, and around 20 scholars came together to celebrate the Lunar New Year and shared their experiences during their studies or work.

SFCCA scholars gathered for their New Year’s reunion, with Deputy Secretary-General of SFCCA and Member of the Scholarship Management Committee, Mr Pok Cheng Chong (left), and the Executive Director of SFCCA, Mr Mark Mah(right).

Seniors who have already entered the workforce reminisced about their fun times while studying in China and the impact it had on their lives. They also shared about different working experiences and offered career development advice to juniors who are still pursuing their studies. Having experienced the challenges brought by the past three years of pandemic, our current scholars have different study experiences from their senior counterparts. Due to pandemic restrictions, some of them went through the experience of attending online classes in Singapore, while others had to undergo quarantine in hotels for almost a month in order to return to campus for physical lessons. Some even experienced the pandemic outbreak in China..Kuo Peiyu (2020 batch scholar), has yet to attend physical lessons at Peking University but made good use of the pandemic period to apply for exchange programs at renowned universities in Europe and the United States, allowing her to gain unique study experiences and broaden her horizons. As for Huang Lijing (2018 batch scholar), she delayed her graduation by a year and used this extra time to return to Fudan University campus and successfully secured an internship opportunity at a well-known tech company in China. Later on, she proceeded to intern in Beijing. Having experienced the pandemic outbreak in both Shanghai and Beijing, she gained an extraordinary experience in China.

2018 scholarship recipient Huang Lijing (third from the right) sharing her experiences during the pandemic in China

Though the time spent together was short, alumni who have graduated and juniors who are still pursuing their studies all felt the warmth of being part of the big family of SNN. The shared experiences of studying in China also made it easy for everyone to find common topics and inspire each other through different life experiences. Mr Pok Cheng Chong encouraged them to cherish this period of their study abroad experience. For those who would like to know more about our scholars’ unique experiences studying in China, please enjoy the video “SNN Features | Studying in China 101” presented by the SFCCA Scholars Network (SSN): https://youtube.com/watch?v=B73aVlx-P9M&feature=shares.

To find out more about SFCCA Scholarship, please click https://sfcca.sg/宗乡总会奖学金/.