My NUS Arts & Social Sciences 2023 Commencement Speech

Good evening,

• Mr Po’ad Mattar, NUS Pro-Chancellor;
• Assoc Professor Reuben Wong, Assoc VP, Global Relations;
• Distinguished Guests; and
• Graduates;

?

Thank you for inviting me to share this special day with you and the graduating cohort from my alma mater which had recently attained the accolade of being the first Asian institution to break into the top 10 in the world university rankings. I am truly proud and honored to be here.

Congratulations.

I am Joanna, I founded Bravery Communications, a marketing communications consultancy specialized in? shaping brand perceptions through the power of story telling.

I wrote a speech initially, with all the politically correct? messages to celebrate you and your achievements.? But at last minute last night I had decided to change it, because I wanted to? stand in my truth, so that you can walk out of this room tonight knowing that you each,? do have a super power to create an impact with the stories you are about to write when you leave this school, which had undoubtedly laid the foundation stones of your future success.??

?After tonight, as you go embrace a world of firsts, first job, first home, new family, kids, the main message I want to convey is that your super power is actually your ability to write your own story.

My super power is the ability to build impactful narratives that could shape the perceptions of people in a meaningful way.

And how did this superpower came about?

It started when I was 8 years old.? My father was a political detainee for views that were not aligned with the government’s.? A journalist visited our home then, to take a statement from Mom and I.? I remembered that he asked “What do you think about your daddy?”? The 8 year old me who hadn’t seen Daddy for a long time, could only respond “ Daddy is so naughty.”?

That quote became part of a story about my family and I which I had to live with on national press.? I grew up with that clipping thinking “ Wow! How powerful communications can be, to shape public perceptions.”? And from then onwards, I wanted to grow up to be like my favourite CNN journalist Christiane Amanpour.?

When it was time to select my courses at this university, I picked English and Political Science as my majors which became subjects I truly loved.? Political Science showed me how valuable it was to have an opinion, while English opened my eyes to what a beautiful language it truly was and I saw it from a different perspective, beyond just using it as a communication tool.

When those ‘powers’ combined, I learnt how to merge having perspectives and excellent communication skills, which thus became the foundation of my very successful 25-year career of being a brand and corporate communications specialist.?

I would like to share an example of what I did with my super power when I spent 10 years with AIA Singapore as it’s head of brand and corporate communications.??

For the longest time, insurance was associated to Death or Sickness.? My role was to change this negative narrative and to build trust and better connection with its customers.? I wanted it to be a brand that incentivised customers to live healthier longer better lives.

3 years into the job, I launched the revolutionary wellness platform called AIA Vitality, which completely changed the conversations of the insurance industry, ? a legacy I was proud to leave behind when I left the company 3 years ago due to a retrenchment at the height of covid.

Leaving AIA forced me to question what my super power was. ? It was then I realised it had evolved. My new super power was my 25 years of experience in marketing communications.

So when retrenchment came, how did I use my super powers? That was when Bravery Communications was born to help smaller businesses, startups and non-profit organizations shape consumer perceptions.

So to? this graduating cohort, I congratulate you for coming this far. I am so excited for you as you explore the world beyond the walls of this university.?

I welcome you to uncover your super powers as you navigate your journey through life. Know that your superpowers will change along the way, and it is ok.?

Having an open mind that is resilient to change, and your swift ability? to pivot according to the challenges you face, can only strengthen your super powers to help you write your own story and make it even more impactful in a way that will add value to your community.

I like to leave you with my favourite quote by Brene Brown “Owning our story and loving ourselves through that process is the bravest thing we’ll ever do.”

With that, I thank you for this opportunity? to celebrate your special day and I look forward to working with some of you someday.

Congratulations once again.