ONE ACS CAREER FORUM 2018

The ACS OBA hosted the 7th ONE ACS Career Forum at ACS (Independent) for the students, parents and alumni of the ACS family and the Methodist schools in Singapore on July 28. Organised by the ACS OBA and sponsored by the ACS Foundation (ACSF), the Forum is an annual flagship ONE ACS event that reaches out to all our local ACS units and seeks to strengthen the bonds within the ACS family.

ACSians past and present, as well as students from Methodist Girls’ School, Fairfield Methodist School and Geylang Methodist School, streamed excitedly into the Centre for Performing Arts 2 of ACS (Independent) for the opening segment of the forum. Lim Tat, the President of the ACS Old Boys’ Association, delivered the opening address. He highlighted the objectives of the Forum, namely for students and parents:

(1) to gain a greater in-depth understanding of what
      a career in each of the various industries entails
      in a candid, informal and interactive setting and

(2) to understand the pre-requisites and characteristics
      to excel in those careers.

He also expressed gratitude to the ACSF for its active support of the Forum from its inception. The ACSF is the umbrella foundation for all the ACS schools, which assists them in enhancing the holistic education needs of our students and teachers, and through them, helps to share with society the blessings and rewards of receiving an ACS education. Finally, Tat introduced the ACS OBA Mentorship Programme that will be launched soon and updated the audience on the formalisation of the ACS Brand Guidelines which the OBA recently rolled out in our continued efforts to strengthen the identity of the ACS family.

This was followed by a C-Suite panel moderated by Jonathan Yuen, Partner, Rajah and Tann Singapore LLP who engaged our distinguished alumni, Chng Kai Fong, Managing Director, Economic Development Board, Singapore; Arrif Ziaudeen, Chief Executive Officer, Chope; and Anil Murthy, President, Valencia Club de Futbol, in a lively discussion on career experiences, advice and personal lessons learned from their own time at ACS and in their own career journeys.

The panels which followed were hosted by alumni moderators who posed questions such as “How do you leverage your professional network?”, “Tell us about the Highs and Lows of your career”, “How did you discover your passion for your career?”, “Describe a typical day in your profession?” and “What skills do you need to succeed in this job?” The purpose of the questions was to give students and parents a frank insight into the realities of what each career entails as shared by alumni members of that industry. The sessions also allowed for audience participation and both students and parents engaged actively in dialogue with alumni panellists.

There were over 80 alumni speakers across 15 professional disciplines that included traditional courses like Law, Medicine, Engineering, Accountancy and Banking & Finance. Disciplines such as Management Consultancy, Entrepreneurship, Public Service, Lifestyle & Hospitality, Media & Entertainment, Allied Healthcare, Data Science and Social Outreach & Pastoral Care provided much diversity and highlighted to participants the varied pathways to a successful and fulfilling career. The soft-skills track with sessions such as ‘Interview Skills’ and ‘Building Your CV’ was also well received.

Local tertiary institutions - NTU, NUS, SIT, SMU, SUTD, and Yale-NUS were present to complement and enhance the overall benefit of the Forum. Participants were able to engage with representatives from these institutions on topics such as academic modules offered, career options, and the criteria for different careers, in addition to clarifying queries on application procedures and selection requirements.

For the speakers and moderators, this was a special occasion to reconnect with friends, renew ties with the ACS family, bear testimony of God’s leading and provision, and reminisce and pass on the torch of knowledge and experience to the current generation. Who better to tell the ACS story than those who have lived it?

The ACS OBA Management Committee would like to thank the ACS Foundation for its sponsorship of the event, the Principals of the ACS schools for their support, the ONE ACS Career Forum 2018 Planning Committee, and in particular, our core planning team including Juliana Tengara from ACS (Independent) and members of our own OBA Management Committee and teacher and student volunteers for their time and sacrifice in pulling off the herculean task of planning and running this event.

We wish to give special thanks to Winston Hodge, Principal of ACS (Independent) for hosting the event at the premises, and to the amazing ACS (Independent) COG team, staff and student leaders for the logistical support. We also give thanks for the unbreakable ties that make our ACS family unique and for the ACS Spirit that lives on through all of us who devote our time, effort and resources to further the ACS call to serve our alma mater.

To God Be The Glory, The Best Is Yet To Be!

Morgan Zhou
ACS OBA Management Committee