Two new courses would be launched come April 2014 to reflect the re-cent developments in their respec-

tive industries. These are the Diploma in Commu-

nication Design (CMD) and the Diplo-ma in Game Design and Development (GDD).

CMD is the evolution of two cur-rent courses - the Diploma in Visual Communication (VSC) and the Diploma in Interactive Media Design (IMD).

Under the new course, Students will be undergoing an extensive curriculum to expose them to various media platforms, from traditional to interactive media.

Course Manager for VSC and IMD, Mr Soh Yong Hern, said: “The key reason why the two courses are coming together

is because we have become so similar. “The web people are learning the

print stuff, and the print people are learn-ing the web stuff.”

In their first year, students of the new course will undergo Foundation Studies.

It will cover everything from basic visual literacy and image- making to tech-nical skills in web and print.

In the second year, students are then allowed to specialise in an area of their choice – Branding Design, Digital Design, Design Illustration or Photogra-phy.

Another course that would be launched in April is GDD, which was pre-viously known as the Diploma in Game Entertainment and Technology (GET).

Course Manager for the diploma, Mr Jonathan Pillai, said: “The games in-

dustry has moved beyond the cre-ation of games for entertainment to the creation of games for teach-ing in areas such as the fields of medi-cal, military, educa-tion and the use of games in advertis-ing.”

Modules for the course would remain the same. However, prospective students could ex-pect a more refined and thorough intro-duction to concepts in the curriculum.

Subjects such as Game Production and Publishing give students a chance to publish a game during their final year.

A full-fledged game design and de-velopment studio as a learning enterprise is also being developed.

Mr Pillai explained: “In this enter-prise, students will work on projects for clients in an environment that is akin to real world game studios.”

Apart from Ilo Ilo’s film debut by home-grown director Anthony Chen, two other films by Temas-

ek Polytechnic (TP) Design students also made its debut at the the recent 66th Cannes Film Festival in southern France.

Cake and Café Je Vous Amie were the two short films screened at the film festival’s Short Film Corner. They were directed and produced by a team of as-piring film-makers from the Diploma in Moving Images: Benjamin Low, Alistair Quak, Cheryl Tan and Jufri Husne. All four graduated from TP in May this year.

Cake and Café Je Vous Amie were shot on a budget of more than $9,000 and about $500 respectively, as final-year projects. According to the team, Café Je Vous Amie, directed by Alistair, was shot in one day and was the least expensive film to be made in the cohort.

Cake was eventually granted full funding by the Media Development Au-thority (MDA) through their short film scheme, explained Benjamin, 21, who

served as writer and director for the film. Both short films are also available on Sin-gapore Airlines’ in-flight Krisworld enter-tainment system.

Said Benjamin, who is currently serving NS, of their film debut at Cannes: “It was co-director and cinematographer Alistair’s idea to send it to Cannes. We both knew it would be a long shot but

we did it for fun anyway. Since we’ve spent half a year thinking and creating our films, we thought, why not try to enter it to festivals like Cannes?”

In total, four out of the seven Singapor-ean films at this year’s Cannes Film Festival came from TP.

Design School alumni Ray Pang’s Closer to Me and Christina Choo’s 3D short film Silent Sins made their debuts as well. Ray’s short film was shortlisted for the People’s Choice Award and Jury Award under the Louis Vuitton Journey Award.

The other three Singaporean films that debuted at the Film Festival were Tay Lide’s Staring At The Sun, Edwin Ho’s El Gris Perfecto (The Perfect Grey) and An-thony Chen’s Ilo Ilo.

Ms Yvonne Tang, course manager of the Diploma in Moving Images (re-cently renamed as the Diploma in Digital Film and Television), said that TP Design

School has done Singapore proud at the festival.

“This shows that not only are TP’s works of good standard and quality - al-though very few people know about us sadly - our works are also comparable to those from overseas,” she said.

Clearly, this experience is one the aspiring film-makers are not going to for-get anytime soon.

“Seeing our films screened there was an added bonus. We never imagined that we would be sitting in the small the-atre watching our films in Cannes.

“Of course, it’s every film-maker’s dream to have his work premiered in Cannes. Though ours is not a feature film with a red carpet opening, to be able to see and be there ourselves is something we won’t forget. And we hope to return in the future with our other concepts,” shared Benjamin, who started making short videos with Alistair since secondary school.

Ms Tang accompanied the team to France this year, and was a mentor for the production team, assisting the produc-tion team in securing locations and giving her input to the pre- and post-production process.

She said Anthony Chen’s award for the best debut feature film is a motivation for future film-makers.

campus newspaper December 2013

3 9 11

By: Juliana Chia

Bigger and better courses in April 2014By: Siti Munira Komari

TP takes on New YorkCMM and Visual Comm students go on study trip

GTA 5 Review

Setting new bar for open mission game design

Cheaper ways of getting colourful locks

Get colour in your hair

Workshop held for ‘O’ Level Students for the new Diploma in Commu-nications design saw overwhelming response.

Design graduates’ short films make it to Cannes Festival

We never imagined that we would be sitting in the small theatre watching our films in Cannes. - Benjamin Low

From left: Ms Yvonne Tang, Design graduates Cheryl Tan, Jufri Husne, Benjamin Low and Alistair Quak at the Cannes Film Festival.

Photo: Benjamin Low

Stop Press :: December 20132

TP students interning at the Thye Hua Kwan Moral Society (THK) as well as CCA groups TP Silat and

Dikir Barat gave their all in commemorat-ing THK Seniors’ Week – a 7-day event celebrating the golden agers.

The event was made possible with the help of student volunteers and THK interns from the Diploma in Gerontolog-ical Management Studies.

The students were honoured when invited to organise various activities, pro-grammes and performances not just for the elderly, but for the guest of honour, Member of Parliament Mdm Halimah Yaacob as well.

Siti Nur Diyanah, 19, an intern and organiser for Seniors’ Week said: “We

have different programmes every day for the entire week; for example mahjong, bead-making (jewellery making), culinary, kite making and drawing competitions.

“We try our best to plan activities that attract the elderly.”

Held at the THK Bukit Batok East Social Service Hub, Seniors’ Week aims to promote a sense of identity and be-longing amongst the elderly. It also allows them to foster special bonds with other senior citizens and residents from all over the constituency.

The TP Silat team joined in the fun as well, performing exhilarating syn-chronised martial arts followed by Dikir Barat’s upbeat performance of musical numbers ranging from Malay, English to Hindi.

Interacting and socialising with the elderly was the highlight of the pro-gramme.

Suryan Zaki, 19, Captain of the silat team said: “It’s a great event to have – com-memorating the el-derly, because it shows them that the youths actually do appreciate them.

“But on the contrary, I too feel that we shouldn’t just limit it into a weekly or annual event because

valuing and en-joying spending time with your grandparents or seniors should be a subconscious act.

“ T a k i n g care of them should not be an obligation, it is a responsibility.”

Vice-Presi-dent of the Dikir Barat team, Nur Ummairah Bte Nazhar, shared similar views on appreci-ating the older generation.

She said: “Youths should partici-pate in these kinds of events beacuse they shouldn’t be self-absorbed – their parents will grow old too.

If the younger generation are able to communicate with senior citizens, it’ll be easier to understand their parents’ needs in the longrun.”

A prize presentation ceremony was held soon after the performances, with the winners and volunteers for each Sen-iors’ Week activity going away with a to-

ken. They also had a chance to take a pic-ture with Mdm Halimah Yacob.

Farah Atikah, a committee member of TP Silat said: “Performing for them really puts a smile on their faces and it’s nice that we made their day. Nothing beats that sense of personal achievement and you will feel good about yourself. It is a win-win situation where you get to give back to the society as well.”

Siti Nur Diyanah said: “ We all, es-pecially the youths, should try to give back to the community not just for money, but for a sense of goodwill.”

By: Hamizah Salikimen

TP students organise Senior’s Week for charity

“Shakei”, a pottery exhibition by renowned ceramist Iskandar Jalil and the Temasek Potters,

a group he founded, opened on Nov 21. Held at TP’s Glocal Connect Vil-

lage Art Gallery, it displayed the crea-tions of 21 members.

They adapted East Asian garden design principles (Shakkei) of incorpo-rating background landscapes into the shapes and forms of their pottery pieces.

Mr Iskandar, a former tutor in TP, said that he was proud of his students’ works.

“I wish they would not imitate or copy my style. But that’s the danger – they always work with me, they always see what I make, there is a tendency for them to be influenced by my style.”

The 73-year-old Cultural Medal-lion recipient added that although his students had organised the exhibition, he did not consider himself a mentor to them, insisting: “I just help them.”

In his speech, the guest of honour, Japanese Ambassador Haruhisa Takeuchi said: “When I look at Iskandar Jalil, the Japanese word Sensei comes to my mind. It means being a master of teaching. The Temasek Potters are blessed to have Is-kandar Jalil Sensei as their source of in-spiration.”

A collaboration between TP’s Be-yonDesign Centre and TransCultural Studies, the exhibition ran for three

weeks, attracting many young pottery en-thusiasts.

Lim Lena, 19, a student from the Diploma in Visual Communication said: “I respect ceramists so much because it isn’t an easy job to do. It can be relax-ing and fun at times but the amount of effort put into the artworks I’ve seen at Shakei is beyond amazing.

“I tried pottery making a few years back so it was easy to tell that the exhi-bition was an obvious imprint of true dedication.”

Amongst the many who have cap-tured the essence of pottery-making, establishing themselves as a new genera-tion of potters are Ms Tan Gek Lin, Ms Suriani Suratman, and Ms Hiroko Mita whose works were presented in the ex-hibition.

The exhibition also had a few well-known guests such as local sculptor Chong Fah Cheong, who together with Mr Iskandar, was among the pioneering batch of teachers at Laselle College here.

Like most of the other guests, he too had high praise for the displayed pieces.

Mr Cheong said: “It’s very accom-

plished, the glazes, the shapes.”He added: “It can only reflect on

the person who obviously guided them, who is no less than Iskandar Jalil himself. You can see the guidance and the knowl-edge behind his teaching.”

Pottery show by Iskandar Jalil and his studentsBy: Hamizah Salikimen & Natalie Chew

The guest of honour, Ambassador of Japan Haruhisa Takeuchi described Mr Iskandar Jalil as a ‘Sensei’ or master teacher.

The Dikir Barat girls giving an unpbeat, feet-tapping performance for the elderly at the Bukit Batok East Social Service Hub.

TP Silat team also entertained the seniors with their energetic synchro-nised martial arts movements

Performing for them,really puts a smile on their faces and it’s nice that we made their day.

-Farah Atikah

Two diplomas go on study trip to United States

Students from the Diploma in Com-munications and Media Manage-ment (CMM) left on Oct 2 for a

media study immersion trip to the media capital of the world, New York City.

The group of 16, consisting of third-year students, a lecturer and a tour guide wasted no time upon reaching New York and went straight to the Columbia Journalism School after checking into their hotel.

Their next stop was touring the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the larg-est art museum in the US, which holds art

collections from all over the world. This was one of the three museums

they visited; the others were the Museum of Moving Images and the Museum of Modern Art.

During their NBC Studios tour, the students got lucky as they witnessed Miley Cyrus rehearsing for her cameo on Satur-day Night Live. They even got to see her famous tongue-wag and twerk combo. “I’ll never forget seeing Miley Cyrus twerk. It’s the weirdest experience for me”, said Rushdy Abdul Rahman, 23, a third-year CMM student. A group of 15 second-year stu-dents from the Diploma in Visual Com-munication was also in New York at the same time. They were on a study trip to learn and experience the art and design culture there.

Elyssa Liz’Anne, 19, a second-year Visual Communication student said: “I was genuinely surprised to meet people from other schools from my polytechnic in New York. It felt foreign to me at first because in Design School, I am like liv-ing in a bubble so meeting people from

a totally differ-ent field is always nice.”

Some of the places the Design students visited were the School of Visual Arts, West Village, Chelsea Galleries, Central Park and Bryant Park.

New York is also the city of art, where inspi-ration comes from every corner and street, in any form, be it in terms of mu-sic, film, theatre, dance or visual art. It is no surprise that both groups of students were inspired by what they saw there.

“Being in New York, the media capital of the world, it’s like a validation of the things that you want to do and can do as a media student.

“It gives you many ideas on the things you can do back in Singapore and

just makes you feel that the sky’s the lim-it”, said Rushdy.

Elyssa was inspired by all things architecture: “I love skyscrapers and ur-banised architecture, so seeing the tall buildings first hand instead from a book is really surreal. I paid close attention to details of the buildings, that I know how Art Deco has influenced the architectural traits of buildings like the Empire State Building.”

3

By: Cherylaida Baharuddin

Stop Press :: December 2013

Volunteering with LoovBy: Siti Munira Komari

A team of TP students created waves at the recent Singapore Computer Society (SCS) Splash

Awards 2013 by emerging winners in their category with a mobile app that aims to create a more compassionate community by encouraging youths to come forward and volunteer.

Known as ‘Loov’, the app was de-veloped by three second-year students from the Diploma in Business Intel-ligence and Analytics (BIA) – Eddie Chew, Koh Chin and Darren Ng.

It was an exceptional win for the team which was up against stiff compet-itors in their Institute of Higher Learn-ing (IHL) category.

Eddie Chew, 18, said: “I think the simplest word to describe it would be we were very happy, there is no better word to describe it.”

Into its 10th year, the competi-tion focuses on innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship. Teams had to come up with apps that would benefit the community by utilising government data from data.gov.sg.

Loov, which was derived from the word ‘love’ and ‘volunteer’, takes an unconventional approach by incor-

porating social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter to ignite the spirit of volunteerism in youths.

Through the use of social media platforms, the team hopes to tackle the problems faced by youths such as not having like-minded friends whom they could go with to volunteer.

Darren Ng, 19, explained: “We in-cluded social media so that you can find a community of people that has more or less the same interest as you.”

Another highlight of the app is its ability to recommend volunteering events which best match the user’s pro-file, as youths are normally faced with a problem of not knowing where to vol-unteer based on their interests.

17-year-old Koh Chin said: “It is difficult to find organisations to vol-unteer at because we would not know when and where there will be an event.”

Paws up for TP’s animal lovers

“Until one has loved an ani-mal, a part of one’s soul remains unawakened,” de-

clared French poet Anatole France. Are you someone whose soul has already been touched by animals, or are you hoping to open up your soul to these animals?

Well, you need not look any further. TP’s very own Temasek Polytechnic Ani-mals Web (TPAW) is here to facilitate and guide animal-lovers on how to care for them the right way.

Established in Nov 2012, TPAW was set up by a group of animal lovers for animal lovers.

“It was set up because we wanted to raise awareness on animal conserva-tion. We also hope to educate the student body about issues related to animals, such as how to take care of their pets and raise awareness on animal cruelty,” explained Roy Haiqel B Sa’adli, the current president of TPAW.

“Our motto as an interest group is to educate, conserve and provide such a service, in order to play a part in animal conservation and welfare.

“We help out by educating the stu-dent body with talks and provide our ser-vice to animal organisations,” said the stu-

dent from Veterinary Technol -ogy.

H e added that T P A W hopes to a r o u s e p e o p l e ’s interest in animals and conservation by getting their members to volunteer for meaningful and enriching programmes.

One major organisation TPAW has worked with is the oceanarium located in Resorts World Sentosa. TPAW recruited volunteers and provided them with the necessary training to become student am-bassadors of the Marine Life Park. These students were given the opportunity to learn more about marine life conservation and spread their knowledge by educating oceanarium visitors.

Another significant event organised by TPAW was during Campus Care Net-work (CCN) Day, last year. It was TPAW’s first event as a club and members gathered to make and then sell dog and cat treats.

Roy said: “There was a lot of trial and error involved when we were making the treats but it was all worth it since it was all for a good cause.”

By: Tan Pei Yu

The group of 16 third-year CMM students visited Columbia Univerity, during the trip which also covered museums and news organisations

15 Visual Comm students were in New York to experience the art and design culture there

CMM and Visual Communication students meet in New York City

Photo: Esther Lam

Photo: Wei Lieh

Muhammad Muhajir’s photog-raphy passion has taken him places.

One of which was the 2013 HSBC/NYAA (National Youth Achievement Award) Earthwatch Re-search Study Trip to Nova Scotia, East-ern Canada.

The 21-year-old was chosen by NYAA to represent the school and doc-ument the trip. The purpose of the trip was to study the mammals of Nova Sco-tia and the nature of the environment.

“It was a mixed feeling of honour, pride and gratefulness to be part of the

Singapore team. Initially I was afraid and I did not feel confident enough, but I decided to give it a shot,” he said.

The expedition was no bed of roses. “I lost my baggage containing my tripod during the transit,” he said.

“Eventually, I had to use my arms as a form of support during the seven days spent there. It was really tough work.”

His passion was ignited when he was 17. “Photography was one of my core modules when I was in ITE previ-ously. I began to develop my interest and dived into it.”

So, what inspires him? He explains that inspiration can be drawn from al-most anything around him.

“Being a photographer has taught me to have a mind of my own and that was what attracted me the most about this hobby,” he elaborates.

Yet, he remains humble and ad-mits that there is still room for improve-ment in his work.

He adds that if another oppor-tunity to travel overseas to pursue his hobby ever presents itself, he would not hesitate to accept the offer.

“This trip to Nova Scotia has al-lowed me to rediscover myself. It made me realise that I should appreciate my life more and I was also able to view things from a different perspective.”

“T he future is in your hands” is a piece of advice most children would grow up listening to.

But how many actually have the courage to take charge of their life and actively make changes?

Syasya Firzanah, a final-year student from Gerontological Management Stud-ies, is one good example of a brave leader.

As the oldest of three children, Syasya held responsibilities and gained in-dependence at a tender age.

Having to fill in for her parents and act as a role model for her younger siblings, she matured much faster than her peers.

Knowing that her siblings were im-pressionable, the East Spring Secondary alumnus has always been mindful of her actions.

Taking charge of the household while her parents were at work to fend for the family was pressurising for her – but the virtues instilled in her helped mould her into a loving and caring individual.

It has been nearly three years since graduating from secondary school, but she insists on contributing back to her alma mater whenever she has spare time.

“They’ve done so much for me while I was there, so I feel like I should do something for the school too.”

Being an active sportsman, Syasya pays special attention to the school’s fit-ness events, such as sports day.

She makes her contribution by handing out drinks to spectators and help-ing out with the school’s netball team.

Age isn’t an issue where Syasya is concerned.

As a teenager, the athletic young lady already has more sporting experience under her belt than some people in their whole lives.

She has already triumphed in kayak, netball and football.

Most recently, Syasya has led the TP female soccer team to the championships in “Diva La Futbol” two years in a row, coming in top eight position.

Despite injuring her right shoulder in an accident, Syasya did not let adversity stop her.

Instead, she compensated by train-

ing up her left arm. Such a positive dis-position and a strong resilient mind have enabled her to excel in sports.

“All I hope for, is to make a positive impact on someone’s life.” With a heart of gold, Syasya actively does her part to make the world a better place.

Earlier, she took part in an OCIP mission to Cambodia where she taught the native children proper hygiene care, songs and dance.

During the mission, she gained a deeper insight into the sufferings of the less fortunate, which powered her drive even further.

The all-rounder believes in giving her 110 per cent in life.

“I want to live with no regrets”, she firmly states. Her role models include other sportsmen who have dedicated their lives to perfecting their game, such as Mi-chael Phelps.

Soh Si Min from the Diploma in Retail Management (RMT) had the chance to take up her intern-

ship in Shanghai, China. “It’s a blessing as the teachers ac-

knowledge me as someone who could perform overseas,” said the 19-year-old.

But the stint was not smooth sail-ing for Si Min, who is RMT’s top stu-dent. Communication proved to be a problem for her over in Shanghai. “The reports had to be typed in Chinese, so I downloaded a special software just for that sole purpose.”

“Living overseas helps to culti-

vate a sense of responsibility and in-dependence. When you’re overseas you need to adapt to the culture,” she added.

Aside from her academic achieve-ments, Si Min is also actively involved in TP Cliquers, the polytechnic’s outreach ambassadors. She has a strong flair for public speaking.

“I’ve done hosting of events dur-ing the course of my study. The first event was the junior’s scholarship cer-emony and my biggest one so far is the National Retailing Competition.”

So how does she cope with her studies alongside her commitments?

“Time management for me is important as I am involved in a lot of things. My priorities are not just study-ing but also making the time I spend in TP worthwhile,” said the all-rounder .

“The important values I learnt at TP are perseverance and self-discipline. It’s easier said then done and takes a lot of determination to stay on the right track,” shares the CHIJ St. Nicholas Girls’ School alumnus.

But she admits that her ambi-tion is to pursue fashion. “I initially wanted to go to Parsons (A design school in New York) to study fash-ion management. But right now, I just want to take things one step at a time and graduate from TP.”

schoolStop Press :: December 20134

Growing up fast, shaping her own future By: Tanya Kneale

Taking things one step at a time By: Leck Kai Sen By: Victoria Chua

His hobby takes him places

DESIGN

All I hope for is to make a positive impact on someone’s life...I want to live with no regrets

HUMANITIES & SOCIAL SCIENCES

BUSINESS

With her petite size, you would never have expected this wispy child-like girl of having

such a vibrant personality. Hanni Chen, a half Shanghainese

half Japanese 21-year old, was presented with an Outstanding Achievement Award for her perseverance and dedication towards helping others in need.

Participating in the Youth Empowerment Symposium (YES!), a 10-week community project organised by YOUTHsync of Metropolitan YMCA Singapore, Hanni and her team emerged as the Top 5 in their category. However, they were initially faced with difficulties in forming a team.

“It wasn’t easy because my course mates were soon starting their internship and were only free on weekends. Many didn’t have the time or dedication for this project. Nonetheless, we were lucky enough to end up with four very diligent members in our group.”

Paired with the Chinese Development Assistance Council (CDAC), the team approached the project with an open mind as well as a thorough plan to integrate the skills they learnt in their course.

“We taught 10 students, all of whom were Sec 1 to 5 students of CDAC beneficiary families. The goal was to teach these students how to create apps using a software called App Inventor. Personally, I didn’t want people jumping to the conclusion that creating a good app is difficult, or requiring intensive programming skills. It’s actually very simple!”

Hanni’s determined personality shone through her reticent façade

when she talked about her work, as she elaborated on the difficulties faced throughout the duration of the project.

“Given only 10 weeks, we were running on a tight deadline. An enormous amount of dedication was needed, as we met up with our partner organisation CDAC to discuss and review our projects on a weekly basis. When that was done, we had to go home and revise our entire workflow and start from scratch, which was very tiring. ”

The third-year Diploma in Mobile and Network Services student is currently working at the National Institute of Singapore (NIE) under Temasek Polytechnic’s Student Internship Programme (SIP).

Having an extremely intriguing past, and towering future aspirations, Hanni’s infectious laugh made it impossible not to crack a smile as she

animatedly talked about her childhood. “I want to be the CEO of

Google. I know it’s a big dream, but it’s really not for the money. I truly like mobile developing. I am not smart, but I am hardworking and I have to work very hard to achieve the things I want.”

Hanni is also exceptionally independent for someone of her age, as she lived alone since she was 13.

“I am living in Singapore alone now as my parents live abroad. Before coming to Singapore, back in 2009 when I was 17, I was enrolled in a Canadian International boarding school located in Tokyo.”

Something people don’t know about Hanni, is that despite her low profile, she has a quirky personality. You get to see this especially after she warms up to a person.

“I had 4 dogs back in Japan, along with a rabbit and a rooster. They all lived with us, in our backyard. I used to dig up earthworms from our garden and feed it to our rooster. That was his name, ‘Rooster’. We ate Rooster the rooster eventually, though!”

“Active, yes, but definitely not competitive!” is how 19-year-old Ng Kwan Jin

describes himself. His hobbies include long-distance running and cycling (which he recently picked up), and he jokes that he also “surfs” the Internet regularly.

Besides sports, Kwan Jin also has unique taste in music – vinyl records. “I mostly borrow (the records) from my uncle who goes to Japan to buy most of it.”

The second-year Aerospace Elec-tronics student is from Penang, Malay-sia, and moved to Singapore in 2011. He quips: “In case any Malay friends want to befriend me, they can speak Bahasa Melayu to me.”

Although Kwan Jin is doing pretty well in school, he admits he still needs time to adjust to Singapore’s fast-paced way of life: “The cities are more hectic, because it’s really laidback from where I come from, so I have to adjust.”

Kwan Jin represented Temasek Poly on a Singapore International Foun-dation Friendship Express Programme.

He was amongst 50 youths who trav-elled to developing countries and of-fered aid. “I find a joy in helping people. The sense of achievement from helping the villagers is something new. I picked up a lot of leadership skills throughout the camp,” he said.

Kwan Jin has big dreams – he wants to be a fully licensed aircraft engi-neer. “I’m aiming for ST Aerospace, but apparently it’s really competitive so I’m keeping my fingers crossed.”

As a person, Kwan Jin tries to be as friendly and humble as possible, cit-ing motivation from his favourite quote: “Being humble and friendly opens a lot of doors.”

On the surface, 20-year-old Adri-an Kho looks like any other student but deep down, he is a

passionate youth who aspires to do his best to care for the environment.

“I have always admired the pristine beaches in places such as Mau-ritius. When I compare these places to our beaches in Singapore, I thought why can’t ours look the same as theirs?”

This thought was what pushed Adrian to embark on a 6-month long project of creating green building ma-terials, under the support of the Bayer Young Environmental Envoy (BYEE) programme.

His innovative eco-idea earned himself an opportunity to meet over-seas experts in the field when he, as the co-winner of the local leg, together with the other top envoys, went on a week-long study trip to Germany sponsored by Bayer in November.

He said the trip was extreme-ly enriching, with sharing sessions by various speakers from different back-grounds. They shared on a myriad of environmental topics like water, energy, and preventing food loss.

“We also got to see first hand the amazing sight of the Cathedral in Ger-

many and had a tour guide to explain to us its significance. On the side note, every meal that we had there was deli-cious, and left us craving for more,” said the well-travelled envoy.

Adrian hopes to keep in contact with the friends he had made through the programme and looks forward to future collaborations.

His supervisor, Dr Wong Sook Fun, whom he met while on his envoy experience, fuels Adrian’s passion in what he does.

“Her passion on environmen-tal protection involving materials is re-ally something that really inspires me to continue to play a part and do some-thing for the environment.”

Stop Press :: December 2013 5

She’s small but has big dreams

Young environmental activistBy: Joceline Loo

Active, friendly, humbleBy: Tan Pei Yu& Bon Koh

APPLIED SCIENCE

ENGI

NEER

ING

By: Laetitia Wong

trail

INFO

RMAT

ICS &

IT

I want to be the CEO of Google. I know it’s a big dream, but it’s really not for the money.

6

Photos, Text & Layout: Cherylaida Baharuddin

Stop Press :: December 2013

CCN Day A Caring Campus

More than 120 stalls were set up at the Plaza and along the schools concourse areas on Nov 15. There

were food, fun, games and performances all lined up to raise funds for the less fortunate students in TP. The event was also to create a meaningful bonding time for the various Care Groups. Many came down to give their support and even had fun while they’re at it.

Henna painting booths attracted many customers.

TP’s first batch of Polytechnic Foundation Programme (PFP) students designed their own badges and stickers for sale.

These furry twins are just one of the “props” at the photo booth run up by the Student and Alumni Affairs department.

A stall selling pre-used items had this child-sized teddy bear.

The boys from Engineering School moving around promoting their brownies.

The photo booth in Engineering School was crowded with people wanting to take group shots.

Design School lecturer Wei Lieh Lee raised a total of $610 in the span of 90 minutes.

All right, hands up if you have a smartphone and Facebook, Twitter or Instagram account

too. Most of you, I’m sure will have them.In this golden age of science and

technology, almost anyone can access the Internet at the push of a button.

The death of an influential figure is known worldwide within an hour of his passing. Curious souls have unlimited learning resources and are rarely left wanting.

So as the most capable sentient

beings on this planet, what do we do with this great tool?

We take pictures of our meals and hashtag them with a dozen words. Great job, humanity.

With a vast majority of our generation using various social media platforms, social networking is the trend

of today, whether we’re connecting with old friends, stalking exes, managing a virtual farm or crushing helpless pieces of candy.

I can’t pinpoint what it is that compels us to post status after status about anything and everything we do, nor

can I explian why we actually respond to these statuses, but this addiction to our social lives has truly taken root.

Personally I have a Facebook, Twitter and Instagram account (yes, I consider myself well-connected, thank you), but I sometimes feel that this big hoo-hah over social networking is a little unnecessary.

Don’t you sometimes feel that the need to post picture after picture of your lunch or announce to the world how your socks don’t match is a little... Redundant?

Well, who are we to judge right? It’s not our lives, after all. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t hate social networking - it has its uses and I’ve reconnected with so many old friends through it.

In my opinion, the good outweighs the bad when it comes to social networking, despite the annoyances created.

Sure it makes studying tougher than it already is (everything that isn’t study-related becomes at least ten times more fascinating, and Facebook is an excellent tool for procrastination), but all in all, it has served us well.

I can honestly say that if not for Facebook, I probably wouldn’t remember

half my friends’ birthdays or be updated with news.

Humans are social beings and we crave social interaction. Perhaps this is why the social networking trend caught on so fast. It is undeniably useful and practical in many ways... as long as I don’t have to see another plate of chicken rice on Instagram.

My Space is for any TP student to share his or her thoughts and experiences. You are invited to write an article of about 600 words.Please write to MySpace.StopPress@gmail.com with subject heading “Mind-scape”. Articles will be edited for content and length.

mindscape

Stop Press :: June 2008Stop Press :: December 2013 7

Apathy: a word that has been thrown around a lot, most often used to describe gen Y, or the

millennial. Being one of the people born in this category, I abhor the label because I believe that my generation is not apa-thetic, we are just moulded by the world that we were born into.

We were born in the information era where technological advances has made it so easy to get news at our fin-gertips, so much so that we’ve become desensitised to the horrors of the world.

I was seven when I first saw some-thing that I would eventually be desen-

sitised to. Till this day, I remember ev-ery single detail of what I saw that day, through a screen no less.

It was a particularly sunny Tuesday morning when my grandmother, who was taking care of me, got wind of the news that there was a terrorist attack in the United States. She turned on the TV and I got my first glimpse of a terror at-tack.

Over the next couple of days, the news kept replaying the clip of the two airplanes crashing into the World Trade Centre and those images were immor-talised in my mind. Back then, I em-pathised with the people who lost their lives in the attacks.

However, over the years I realised that subsequent terror attacks had less and less emotional effect on me. I knew the numbers, thousands dead, many more injured.

But it just didn’t have the same ef-fect anymore. They were just numbers on a screen. I grew numb to the tragedies that occurred around me.

So, I don’t believe that my genera-

tion and I are apathetic. It’s not that we do not care about the world around us.

We do care, it’s just that we have been desensitised by the constant media barrage we experience everyday. Adults deem this desensitisation from the media as apathy.

Desensitisation is being exposed to so much of a certain subject that you are not affected by it anymore. This is what happens to us as a generation. In fact, I believe that we as a generation are in fact empathetic.

Whenever I am in the mass rapid transit (MRT), I notice youngsters giving up their seats voluntarily to people who need it more. These little acts of kind-ness go unnoticed to many people and if adults pay a little attention to these things, I believe the ‘apathetic’ labels would stop. Of course, there will always be incidents of isolated negative behaviour.

But I believe that our generation, though not apathetic, is jaded. This is an-other consequence of the media blitz that we experience everyday. As I mentioned before, being exposed to the number of

tragedies that we have been exposed to, we tend to feel jaded because we don’t feel like anything that we do will make a difference.

Still this jadedness and desensitisa-tion, are not ideal traits that we should embrace. I implore my fellow gen Y com-rades to shake off this negative stereo-type that adults have of us. Let us unite and show them that we do care.

By: Josiah Ang

It’s not that we do not care about the world around us. We do care, it’s just that we have been desensitised by the constant media barrage we experience everyday.

Don’t you sometimes feel that the need to post pic-ture after picture of your lunch or announce to the world how your socks don’t match is a little... Redundant?

We are being accused of being apathetic, but is it a fair label to be pinned on us?

Photo: thedrum.com

Networking is fine, but keep the nitty-gritty out Social media conundrum

The ‘meh’ generation

By: Russell Scully

Stop Press :: December 2013 9

Grand Theft Auto V - the mission- based game that introduces amazing aspects of gaming no

other open-world game has attempted before.

The 15th title in the Grand Theft Auto series, the game is developed by Rockstar North, and published by Rockstar Games, and was highly anticipated ahead of its release.

The innovative features that the virtual, vast, varied and beautiful world has to offer are endless.

These include the ability to switch between three independent characters any time you deem fit, the different side missions available at your disposal, or even the fact that what may start as a normal day walking down the street may turn into a full-fledged high speed police chase.

Players who love a good cinematic crime raid are definitely in for a treat.The game allows you to vary perspectives between the three protagonists Trevor, Michael and Franklin.

The player is given the opportunity to live the lives of either a methamphetamine entrepreneur living in a desert (Trevor), a former criminal who is constantly

unhappy even with his current state of comfortable privileges in life (Michael), or Franklin, a talented young African American, who, unlike Michael, does not have opportunities in life presented to him on a silver platter.

The main events in the game are the heist missions, planned by Michael and gang. The missions are mostly complex, often involving multiple stages

of preparation. When a gunfight ensues (and they

ensue frequently), the player has an arsenal of weapons to choose from, all easily customisable with in-game add-ons.

GTA V has set the bar for open-mission game design with its beautiful depiction of Los Santos. In comparison to the older games, many people in the community agree that the fifth instalment in the 16-year-old series has taken the game to the next level. However, there are also critics saying that Los Santos does not have the same amount of realism that it’s predeceesors had, for example, Vice City.

As amazing and detailed a gameplay

as it is, a downside to the game would be the fact that GTA V portrays women as second class.

They are often depicted in the game as prostitutes, strippers, suffering wives, and even feminists meant to be made fun of.

The absurd and unnecessary misogynist element within the game reinforces sexism.

Despite the evident rampant misogyny, the game is a must try.

In October, Apple unveiled its updat-ed version of the MacBook Pro with Retina Display.

The main change revealed was Apple cutting the disc drive from the body of the laptop, hinting at the fact that they are heading in a direction where disc drives will be a thing of the past.

Slowly whittling away at obsolete products from their line of products has been a time-honoured tradition with Ap-ple.

The fact that there is only one prod-uct that they are offering with a disc-drive is a telling sign that they are planning to remove the disc-drive from the Apple line for good.

The plan seemed to have started in 2008, when Apple unveiled the MacBook Air, the first Apple computer that did not include a disc drive.

High prices of the Air coupled with the fact that programs were still predomi-nantly sold on CDs (Compact Disc) made the removing of the disc drive seem like a huge blunder.

It was only three years later that Apple opened its App Store, providing an alternative platform for programs to be acquired from. In the interim between the launch of the Air and the App Store, stop-

gap measures were implemented.Some of the measures introduced

included the feature allowing Air users to tap into working disc drive from another computer.

Another feature used to help ease people into a disc-less world was offering its OS (Operating System) recovery tools on a USB (Universal Serial Bus) drive.

Users of the Air were also given the option of purchasing an external CD drive to use, though they had to buy it separately for an additional US$79.

Though the exclusion of disc drives from a machine wasn’t unique or new, Apple’s plan to remove it came during

the time when Blu-Ray was just getting popular and Apple’s PC competitors were trying to upgrade their DVD (Digital Ver-satile Disc) to Blu-Ray compatible drives.

In retrospect, the conversion to a disc-less machine seems to have benefitted both Apple and its consumers immensely.

One perfect example of this would be the fact that removing the disc drives has allowed for a lighter and slimmer ma-chine to many of its customers’ delight.

In providing the lighter and sleeker machine for its consumers, the cutting of the disc drives also allows Apple to ship more units in one shipment, which helps Apple to save more money.

As Cloud technology, which allows people to save their information and files securely on a virtual server online ad-vances, it is inevitable that more and more companies will host their programs online.

Because of this, disc drives becom-ing obsolete is just an eventuality and it seems like the gamble Apple made three years ago has paid off.

The only question left is whether Apple’s PC competitors will continue on their trend of continually upgrading their disc drives to the latest machine.

Or will they follow the lead of Ap-ple in doing away with the disc drives for machines.

It seems Apple products are clearly heading towards a disc-less world and the disc drive may well be going the way of the floppy disk: towards extinction.

The possible death of disc drivesBy: Josiah Ang

One of the best open-world gamesBy: Koh Bon

Photo: Nairaland.com

Photo: Beatsperminute.com

Photos: Google.com

Photos: wallaad.com

Apple Macbooks are getting lighter and slim-mer with the removal of the disc drive

Rumours of PC version After the release of GTA V on the PS3 and Xbox 360, many fans of the series are anxious that a PC version of the game may be dropped. Luckily for them, there are hints from Rockstar games that a PC version may well be on its way. A twit-ter post from the company replying to a fan querying about an announcement for the PC version of the game said: “Keep an eye out for info on that on our newswire page” Even though this doesn’t seem like a very positive sign, it is better than “we have nothing to share”, which they have tweeted before.

Stop Press :: December 2013 10

Alvina Neo was never the sporty girl, nor was she into sports while studying in Temasek Polytechnic

Born with Spinal Bifida, a spinal condition that impaired her ability to walk, Alvina was the “queen of LOAs” when in TP as she had to be frequently hospitalised.

It was then that she started thinking that she cannot keep being afraid of trying new things.

The Biomedical Science graduate, who is now a researcher for National University of Singapore, says she is living her dreams:

“For myself, I can’t really waIk or run, but I can kayak, snorkel, (play) archery, wheelchair basketball. I also climbed the Bukit Timah hill, my first hill in preparation for the expedition”.

The expedition which she eventually

went on proved to be one of the craziest things she embarked on, climbing Mount Ophir with 14 others, four of whom were disabled athletes.

It was no easy feat for Alvina as she obviously felt the brunt of sitting for 7 hours while descending Gunung Ledang. It was even too much for her to take at one point that she broke down.

“The best thing that could ever happen was having a bowl of hot Maggie and hotdogs upon reaching basecamp” said Alvina.

She is grateful after her remarkable efforts to raise funds to build wells for irrigation and drinking water in Cambodia.

Alvina recently hand-cycled 100km around Singapore in a bid to raise $3,000 for Club Rainbow, an organisation that helps children who are suffering from chronic illnesses.

That was one of the toughest challenge she ever faced as she never trained on roads before the event.

It was hence no surprise, that it took a lot of perseverance and willpower

for her to pull herself up the slopes. “It is easy as in you don’t really need

to balance and all that, but it’s difficult because once you get out to the roads, you have to fight against vehicles, with big lorries and busses. You’re very vulnerable when you are out there.”

To Alvina, hand-cycling is more than a sport; it pushes her to her limits and at the same time enables her to inspire others.

“Bicycle, hand-cycle, both have the same gearing system. This is the gearing system that pushes me forward, to go out there and to spread the message, not to change the world, but through small ways, to inspire people to change themselves.”

Despite the danger factor attached to the sport, Alvina is determined to continue handcycling and represent Singapore in international competitions.

Balancing a full-time job and studying has never deterred Alvina from doing sports. She once swam 100 laps in Swim for Hope 2011 where $1 was donated for every lap she swam.

By: Cherylaida Baharuddin

Soccer team scores gold after 5 yrs

After 5 years without winning the POL-ITE Games, this year Temasek

Polytechnic’s soccer team beat the Institute Of Technical Education (ITE) ‘s soccer team 5-1 in the finals.

With many of this year’s squad busy playing for S-League clubs, training was only able to kick into full gear barely a month before the games. Time was clearly not in their favour.

The start of school training meant that there were simply no rest days for the players. On top of their existing five-day training regime with their respective clubs, the two days left were occupied with school training.

The high level of intensity and commitment that each player put into honing themselves as a footballer was certainly admirable.

With little time spent training

together, one could only imagine the difficulties they faced while training for this year’s tournament.

Self-belief and the fostering of a strong bond was their answer claimed Muhd Safwan, a third-year student from the Diploma in Mechatronics.

“Every year we believe in ourselves and that we have the best players but somehow we don’t win.

“This year, the bonding was a lot stronger as a team. I think that made the difference.”

The games saw Temasek Polytechnic conceding only three goals as compared to their tally of 18 goals scored.

Despite their massive showing during the tournament, Muhammad Haziq Bin Azman, the team captain, claimed that it was no easy feat.

Having a team of stars, complacency was something to be tackled.

“The thing that we had to take care of was our egos. Most of us are club players, like I play for Home United, and others play for clubs like Geylang International and Balestier Khalsa and so on. So we have our own ideas on how to play the game.

“That was something we had to manage. I believe we did that very well as we eventually managed to sort that out and worked together toward our common goal, which was to win every game we played in.” said Haziq.

‘ I can’t really walk or run, but i can kayak, snorkel...’

By: Joseph Dimmick

After months of intensive train-ing to rival any professional sportsperson’s, the TP Dragon-

boat Men’s Team has finally ended the 10-year podium-finish drought.

It was placed third in this year’s POL-ITE dragonboating competition.

A beaming Aqil Bin Haji Isnin, proud member of the team, shared what it felt like to wear the bronze medal around his neck.

“It was an absolutely hair-raising and memorable experience for all us! The satisfaction and accomplishment that we experienced cannot be expressed in words. But don’t get me wrong; we are not satisfied and we are still hungry for more. I’m positive that next year’s per-formance would be even better than this year’s,” said the Accounting & Finance student.

With the training conducted su-pervised by coach Adrian Low, it is not difficult to believe Aqil’s claim. Mr Low only started coaching the Dragonboat Team in the beginning of the year, but already has impacted the team greatly.

“Ever since (he) came in to coach us, no training was considered usual; for me, personally, the training we went through dwarfed whatever we’ve gone through previously. It required a tre-mendous amount of mental focus to get through, because it was the most

challenging training we had ever experi-enced,” Aqil shared.

Each training session combines crossfit and power exercises that help stretch the limits of the team’s physical strengths. One such exercise is the “pyr-amid” set of pull-ups, which includes weights. Each team member starts with a 25kg set of weights, and slowly builds his way up to 45kg. This method gives the exercise its name.

It seems that the new training re-gime and its results have not only sur-prised the TP Men’s Dragonboat Team. Other competitors who were caught off guard, have billed the team a dark horse.

However, ending the “curse of a no-podium finish”, as Aqil puts it, has not gotten to the heads of the dragon-boaters. While they are elated with their win, the team understands that to con-tinue feeling this happiness, they would have to work just as hard for next year’s competition. The team has already start-ed training for next year’s POL-ITE.

By: Lee Yong Yee

Paddling to glory after 10 years2013 POL-ITE Games

Alvina Neo returned to campus to give a talk at the inaugural ‘Graduates with a Heart’ forum organised by SAA and the Community Service Club.

Alvina recently participated in the Swissotel Vertical Marathon 2013.

She said: “What are limitations? I believe that for any able-bodied person like all of you here, you have some form of limitation too. But do you let your-self be limited by your limitations?”

The other big-hearted alumnus featured in the forum was Tong Ming Ming who donated part of his liver to a stranger.

The engineering dipolma graduate saw an urgent plea on Facebook and felt a “calling”.

TP soccer boys clinched the cup after beating ITE in the finals

Alvina Neo and Tong Ming Ming were guest speakers at “Graduates with a Heart” forum

Graduates with a big heart

The Dragonboat Man’s Team came in third in this year’s POL-ITE Games

A decade is a long time and it was a time for a change for the Temasek Polytechnic (TP) Chorale.

Ms Ong Chiak Yin, 38, took over the baton from the founding conductor Mr Darius Lim, and is now leading the 85-member strong choir.

Member Pat Yuan Teng, 19, believes that having a good conductor is important, as she will have the ability to share her knowledge and groom her students well.

“A mentor has to be able to not only demonstrate well, but also use words to explain, ensuring that the mentees understand

and deliver similar sound quality.”

Having been a teacher for over 15 years, one of the first improvements Ms Ong made was to discipline the sound quality, and make the choir more aware of each other’s singing techniques.

“She introduced everyone to music theory so that people without music background can read and play notes so they can learn the songs by themselves,” said student conductor and section leader Victor Tan.

Having been an alto voice in choirs back in her schooling days, Ms Ong can relate to her students who are juggling between school and passion. She believes that how the students cope with the different responsibilities will shape the student into the person they will become.

“Everyone juggles between life’s demands and responsibilities and none of these that we need to do are any less important.”

It was lunchtime, but students streaming out of lecture theatres, classrooms and labs did not head towards the canteens.

Instead, they seemed to indulge in a different kind of meal – bobbing their heads to the performances outside the library and enjoying food for the soul.

For three consecutive weeks from 13 Nov, bands from Temasek Polytechnic’s Music Vox performed outside the library during lunch break.

It was part of the Lunchtime Performance Series Mid-Week Madness

organised by the Temasek Arts Centre.

A total of 11 bands brought popu-lar songs from the likes of Beyonce, Green Day and Jessie J, which drew crowds of students.

Charles Loh, 20, the Vice-President of Music Vox, said: “It felt very nice, knowing

that the students enjoyed our perfomances. It gave us the extra boost to give 110% for our set.”

The event was launched as an arts initiative by the Student and Alumni Affairs Department to promote appreciation towards the arts.

Mr James Lye, 24, the Student Devel-opment Officer in-charge of this initiative, said: “I’d like youths in Singapore to start by questioning the definition of art.

“Is art a tangible thing or is it something which cultivates one’s thoughts, emotions, character and outlook?”

Even though the event featured only the Music Vox, plans are underway for future instalments to include more arts groups.

The rainbow hair trend is on the rise amongst the youth in Singapore – especially here in Temasek

Polytechnic. Go on, take a look around our campus and keep an eye out for students sporting outrageously coloured locks.

So let’s say you love the idea of having candyfloss hair with a pink and purple mane, but you aren’t sure if you really want to jump straight into spending lots of money dyeing your hair because you could potentially look like a Jigglypuff.

A cost-effective alternative would be to colour your hair temporarily to test the waters.

There are several ways that you can do this, depending on the look that you are going for.

The first method would be to use a temporary hair dye. Check out Manic Panic’s Semi-Permanent Vegan Hair Colour, which

can be purchased for around $30 at 77th Street. The colour usually lasts for four to six weeks, depending on how well you take care of your hair.

This method has longer staying power, it is more suitable for solid colours, and is much more expensive in comparison to the other two methods which we will look at next.

The second method that you can try would be to chalk your hair using soft chalk pastels that can be bought at art stores such as Art Friend. As seen on style icon Alexa Chung, hair chalking is a simple and cheap way to add temporary colour to your hair.

“Hair chalking allows you to easily change your hair colours often, and it comes off easily with washing,” says Desiree Lim, a 19-year-old student from Republic Polytechnic. “It might stain your clothes though, so make sure that you wear something you don’t mind getting dirty when applying the chalk,” she suggests.

Lydia Teo, a second-year student from Temasek Polytechnic’s Diploma in Visual Communication, adds: “It can stain your clothes if it rains, so I usually advise people to wear black.”

The 18-year-old is a veteran at temporary hair colouring, and uses hair chalk to experiment with multiple colours at a time (twelve different colours is the highest number she has tried). “Don’t do it

too often though”, she says. “Hair chalking dries up your hair. It makes each strand weaker and your hair becomes more brittle.”

The last method of temporary hair colouring is one that you might not have heard of before. Lydia uses food dye to colour her hair when she wants a strong solid color just for the day. This is ordinary food colouring that can be purchased at the supermarket under the baking section.

“Food dye stains skin, so I thought of using it for hair to create a less damaging dye,” she says. So far, she hasn’t seen any side

effects from it. Food dye creates a stronger and brighter colour in comparison to hair chalking. According to Lydia, it’s easier too.

“I just coat a brush or sponge with dye and dab it onto my hair. After that I use a toothbrush to fine-comb it. Then dry your hair using a hairdryer and you’re done.”

Don’t use a hair straightener or a curling iron on your hair when using this method though. “The heat will make the food dye sizzle and your hair will burn.”

Stop Press :: December 2013 11

By: Sim Yu Xiang By: Joceline Loo

Music for lunch New chorale conductor

A cheaper splash of colourBy: Christabel Png

Hair chalking allows you to easily change your hair colours often, and it comes off easily with washing.

- Desiree Lim

Photo: Sim Yu Xiang Photo: Joceline Loo

Above: Lydia’s hair applied with food dye (left) and hair chalk (right)

Photos: Christabel Png

The cast of MediaCorp’s hit television series Mata Mata made a special guest appearance at TP

Rawks, Temasek Polytechnic’s biggest annual outreach party for Sec 4 students.

Singapore’s favourite contractor, Phua Chu Kang, joined in the surprise visit by the four Mata Mata actors –George Young, Paul Foster, Adam Chen and Nadiah M. Din – for an afternoon of fun and games.

“I can’t believe the cast of Mata Mata came to TP! I love watching the show and I’m a huge fan of all of them. This is like a dream come true!” exclaimed Rawker Maddie Chen, 16.

Phua Chu Kang was the first on stage to greet the Rawkers. He warmed up the crowd with his humorous antics and even engaged in some light banter with the audience.

A short game of music and dance followed, where the winner was awarded a pair of tickets to the screening of the Mata Mata finale.

The cast of Mata Mata then came on and reached out to the Rawkers with a group photo-taking session in order to get TP and MediaCorp trending.

They later engaged the Rawkers in a friendly competition, playing games such as “chapteh” and the highlight was when a Rawker was paired up with a celebrity

as a team to compete. The endearing personalities made the Rawkers hold them in high regard and it resulted in resonating cheers as the afternoon event drew to a close.

The #tprawks trending tag was raving when Rawkers began posting their excitement in a huge wave of tweets and Instagram pictures. Many Rawkers expressed their enthusiasm with tweets such as: “Only need one word to describe my experience at TP: #tprawks”.

Eudora Tan, TP’s Corporate Communications Officer and the leader behind TP Rawks said: “It’s a very family-like culture here, we care for the Rawkers, we go through thick and thin with them and I think that’s something that TP is. ” She hopes that the takeaway for every Rawker is -“Coming to TP is like coming home”.

Every year, TP Rawks is organized for prospective students to personally experience TP’s vibrant culture and exuberant energy. Over three days, various activities such as the highly anticipated Jam and Hop, takes place. This gives Rawkers a chance to know the poly and its courses.

“TP Rawks has really opened my eyes to the Polytechnic culture. I love the sense of support and community here. I’ve had a great time and I wish this never has to end!” said Jaslyn Koh, a 17-year-old TP Rawker.

It started with over 50 contestants, with countless more not making the cut during the auditions.

Everyone gave it their all to outshine the others in a battle of body and soul which lasted for weeks, all to become the champion of Teens Magazine’s Teen Model Search 2013.

TP students Dominic Wong,

Inqa Widu Ayu, and alumnus Novell Tan made it to the finals of the nation-wide competition. Novell was the first runner-up and also clinched the Miss Congeniality award, while Dominic was the second runner-up.

The final showdown among 24 hopefuls, ranging from 15 to 21 years old, was on Nov 23, at the atrium of Bugis Plus. It was hosted by popular radio presenter Boy Thunder and graced by other celebrities like former MediaCorp actress Dawn Yeoh and singer Derrick Hoh.

The theme of the competition was Colour My Life, focusing on giving to others, having a healthy lifestyle and caring for the environment. In the spirit of giving, the finalists also raised over $5,000 for Club Rainbow, a charity committed to children suffering from chronic diseases.

Finalists put on a fashion show, performing several catwalks, a Korean-Pop dance item, and they were interviewed on the competition theme.

There were also performances by singer Derrick Hoh and students from Celine Jessandra School of Performing Arts.

For 20-year-old Novell, who has won various beauty pageants, this was her first modelling competition. She said: “Modelling and pageants are very different. You have to smile all the time in a pageant, but we were not supposed to smile in some parts of the modelling competition. It was fun though, we felt like real models, with so many outfits to change into and personal assistants to help us.”

18-year-old Hospitality and Tourism Management student Dominic was nudged to join the competition by his elder sister Amelia Wong. She is also a TP student and was a winner in the Teens Model Search in 2011.

Dominic said: “I seriously did not think I would win. When all the subsidiary prizes were given out, I thought it was over for me. I was really surprised when it was announced that I was second runner-up!”

For Inqa, 18, the chance to participate came unexpectedly. She said: “I never expected myself to be a part of this. Initially, I was scouted when I was studying outside the labs, and they called me down for the audition. I enjoyed the journey because I made a lot of friends and I learned so much from this competition. I think it made me a better person. I feel more confident about myself and conquered my fears.”

Mata Mata comes to Temasek Polytechnic

Designed and published by Diploma in Communications and Media Management studentsDesigners: Cherylaida Baharuddin, Sheryl Tng, Tan Pei Yu, Josiah Ang, Tanya Kneale, Leck Kaisen

Stop Press :: June 2008Stop Press :: June 2008 Stop Press :: December 2013 12

By: Sim Yu Xiang

Catwalk to glory

Stop Press PDF Version:www-bus.tp.edu.sg/bus-home/bus_aboutus/bus_publications.htm

TP students make it to the finals of Teens Magazine’s Teen Model Search

By: Tanya Kneale

Photos: Tanya Kneale

Photo: Sim Yu Xiang

You have to smile all the time in a pageant, but we were not supposed to smile in some parts of the model-ling competition.

– Novell Tan, first runner-up

From left: Inqa Widu Ayu, Dominic Wong and Novell Tan, TP’s Teen Model Search finalist