#SMCHikingLibrary Reflection by Javier Pei Jia Jie

As a graduate student, learning is an extremely essential aspect of consistent progress. The process of learning comes in many different aspects and dimensions beyond just studies within the laboratory or classroom. Miss Wong Su-Yen’s critical advice on being open-minded and adaptable to different environments and technology inspired me to always take the initiative in exploring new things beyond my comfort zone. This motivates me to try things that are difficult or challenging which will train me to overcome obstacles that were once insurmountable. These insights also drive me to plan ahead for long-term goals and chart out the necessary steps to achieve these goals.?

Another valuable piece of advice that Miss Wong gave was on being open-minded towards the ideas of others and developing good interpersonal skills. Having good communication and teamwork with my peers, mentors, and colleagues allows me to learn their approaches and perspectives towards different goals. Simultaneously, it gives an impartial and wider perspective on the challenges that they may face which may initially be unknown to me. These experiences create a platform for building trust and finding ways as a team to overcome these obstacles. Thus, the effective collaboration from both sides will contribute towards greater collective goals. ?

The valuable pieces of advice from Miss Wong are paramount for me to develop a global-ready mindset. Her rich experiences internationally have taught me different approaches to bridging the gap between local and global perspectives. This trains me to be always adaptable and consistent within dynamic environments in my future endeavors.

My interactions with Miss Wong Su-Yen, Dr Andreas Lendlein, and Mr Marcus Pang during the hike reinforced my life motto of “Expanding my horizons and being my best”. Despite coming from different specializations that include research and consultancy, the mentors’ valuable advice are aligned with my motto and highly translatable towards my learning.??

Miss Wong’s sharing of her life experiences taught me that no task is impossible to achieve as long as I have a great passion and motivation towards it. This is evident in her experiences and work in becoming the Chairperson for the Singapore Institute of Directors. Her diverse international education and work background has also developed her positive work ethic and utmost passion. These lessons have given me the confidence to always give my best effort in the tasks that I am responsible for. The attributes of passion and determination are key drivers towards excellence and groom a positive mindset. Beyond this, I learned to focus on the process rather than the rewards and take the initiative to go beyond what is expected of my responsibilities. These lessons are extremely valuable as they reinforce my motto of being my best.

Through Dr Andreas and Mr Pang, I learned the values of being open-minded and viewing things from a broader lens rather than just from a constrained view. This is extremely valuable for my future career geared towards research because I can learn from others how to approach and solve a common goal using different methods. Aligning these lessons with my motto of “expanding my horizons”, it trains me to always be immersed in different learning cultures. This provides an essential opportunity to gain experience and to be versatile in a broad understanding of different technological domains. The confidence and courage to explore a multitude of domains expand networking and collaboration opportunities. More importantly, the process of learning allows for self-reflection and improvement to become a better version of myself both as a student and an individual.

?The privilege to learn the different qualities from distinguished mentors has taught me the importance of being passionate about what I am pursuing and not be afraid of unexpected challenges. Through hard work, continuous learning, and having an abundance mentality, I believe these lessons supplement my philosophy and will groom me to become global-ready. ??