Michael Septirymen
Secondary Student
On the 25th of July, 8 students, 4 from Grade 9 and 4 from Grade 11, attended an international event in Singapore, known as the ASLC, or Asian Student Leadership Conference. We were all optimistic that we would gain much valuable learning from this experience.
On the first day of the event, we played icebreaker games to allow us to get to know the other student leaders from other countries. Language wasn’t an issue as we all spoke English; however, the difference in culture made it slightly difficult for us to connect at times. Despite the challenge, we learnt to value differences in perspectives and made friends throughout the day.
On the second and third days, we participated in activities teaching us about leadership and teamwork. These activities included dragon boating and high-low ropes challenges. On the second day, we also had opening ceremony, where 4 guest speakers talked to everyone about their start-ups and organizations. They were truly inspiring people and luckily, we managed to find time to ask them questions.
On the third day, we were challenged to come up with a business model based on the topic of conversation we chose earlier. The model was to be presented to a panel of expert judges and we would be scored accordingly. The 11th graders chose the topic of gender equality, while the 9th graders chose the topic of mental health. Everyone stayed up late to finish their projects.
On the last day, we presented our business models and finally, we had a performance night, where each group of students had to perform something for everyone. We ACSians decided to do the mass dance from Orientation 2018, which gave us a good laugh. We took a lot of pictures and exchanged contact information, hoping that we can stay in touch with our new friends in the future.
All in all, this trip was one of the most valuable experiences I have had in awhile. Not only did I get to meet people from different cultures and different countries, I also got to bond closer with my fellow ACSians, especially the 9th graders.
