Gimme Something Good

NTU called me today, asking me to take part in the survey. They wanted to know if I was employed, how much I was paid, how long I took to find a job and whether my education prepared me for my job.

As I answered the questions one-by-one, I smiled. It gave me to evaluate my life as a student and my life up till this point in time. Is the nature of my work related to my degree programme? Yes. The extent your degree programme helps you to obtain your present job. A very large extent. Looking back, would you have preferred a different course of study at NTU? No. Please rate your overall experience as an undegrad in NTU. 4/5.

One chance to take one course in Uni and I chose the one that I've wanted to do all my life. Sure, it's soft-skills, mostly. But that's exactly how the survey evaluated education: the extent that NTU prepared me for written communication, oral communication, presentation skills (are you kidding me I'm in communications). Then there's ability to learn, interpersonal skills, personal effectiveness, working in groups. Of course!

Did my education get me the job I want? Definitely. I was at Fernvale Gardens School this afternoon. It's a school for the intellectually disabled kids and the work they do is really inspiring. And it's part of my job to come up with activities for the volunteering sessions, making sure that it's enjoyable and fruitful for the volunteers as it is for the kids. I feel grateful to be in a position where I can make a difference. It makes me happy.

And I guess this is why my job makes me happy. I get the chance to grow at my own pace. I get to do something I like - communications. I get to go home on time! I get a lot of job satisfaction, especially since in a two-person team, I can see my every effort amplified.

It's luck that the cards fell into place. With my limited experience in life, I've played my cards right. That, and an open heart, an open mind. A bit of quiet confidence and a bit of determination.

And a whole lot of optimism.