Hon Liang Yi

Please tell us more about where you are currently working at and what you are doing.

I am an Associate, Corporate Giving (Marketing and Events) at National Volunteer & Philanthropy Centre (NVPC). NVPC aims to build a giving culture in Singapore, and a major part of that involves roping in Corporates to contribute in their own ways. I'm part of the team driving the Company of Good, an initiative that hopes to empower businesses to give back sustainably, strategically and impactfully. I plan, manage and execute their marketing campaigns, programmes and events, as well as develop the content that comes out. This involves working with many different partners, from the corporates and various media agencies, to my own internal stakeholders as well!

What made you choose to do a degree in Social Sciences and why did you choose to do it in SMU?

When I graduated from polytechnic with a Diploma in Mass Communication I knew I wanted to contribute my time and energy to giving back, but honestly, at 19, who knows what we truly want? When I thought about it that way, the decision was easy. A degree in Social Sciences was broad enough for me to explore my interests and learn as much as I can, while SMU's flexibility - especially in choosing majors outside the social sciences - meant that I could try out new things and see what I enjoyed! For instance, I always thought I'd pursue Psychology and Marketing, but after taking my introductory Political Science class and exploring my interests, I ended up graduating with a double major in Political Science and Analytics. I also did a lot of fun modules that were completely unrelated to my majors, like Sociological Theory and even Play in History, Culture and Invention.

How has the SOSS experience been for you, and how has it benefitted you?

It has been a crazy rollercoaster! I've been quite privileged to be presented with so many opportunities - I got to join a Political Science Study Mission to Guizhou, China, and even got to pilot a new overseas community service project in SMU - Bike4Change, the first biking-related project that aims to bridge the physical distance between Filipino students and their schools through provision of bicycles and basic bike maintenance. I took on various student leadership roles, and for my international exchange, I spent four glorious months in Chicago, USA. Not only did I get to study social inequality in America and explore Chicago's diverse neighbourhoods (yup, exploring is compulsory and graded!), but I also spent my time travelling to places like New York, San Antonio in Texas, and even New Orleans. These experiences at SMU made me more mature and open-minded - that there is more to the world than just what I see and think, and that I should always stay curious and keep asking and learning from others.

In my final year, I took on a senior thesis with my supervisor, Associate Professor John Donaldson, and I got to research and write about volunteer recruitment and retention in non-profits. I interviewed non-profits all over Singapore to understand their constraints and practices, researched on volunteer management worldwide and of the social sector in Singapore, and wrote a hundred-page paper about it. The senior thesis was painful (hence my "famous" hashtag #thesiscrisis on Instagram, which some of my fellow senior thesis friends adopted in solidarity) but was truly an enriching experience that solidified my desire to give back through my career.