Driven to Excel

Ask Stefani Choong to describe herself and the Year 4 Finance major at NUS Business School can rattle off a litany of adjectives – highlighting the attributes and drive of a young woman determined to excel in her endeavours.

A national athlete on the Singapore Women's National Softball Team, Stefani shares: “I am pretty competitive when it comes to sports. Whether it be sports or school, when I have a clear goal I am determined to do anything to achieve it. In order to excel in my team, I would put in the extra hours to train on my own. I also study on long commutes to make up for these training hours.”

Early shaping influences in her family and friends have also nurtured this competitive and driven streak in her. “My sibling and I, in friendly family competition, took on the challenge of setting the bar for our younger cousins. My group of close friends are very driven. As we hang out, study and work hard together, I find myself taking on the same characteristics,” she muses.  

Colour Me Busy

Juggling her studies in a competitive faculty in her Freshman year, her national team training and competitions, and a staggering seven CCAs in Temasek Hall, was no mean feat: it is an understatement to say that Stefani’s calendar is packed to the rafters. To stay on top of things, Stefani gleefully reveals that she likes to draw up ‘to-do’ lists to maintain a sense of order and priorities.

Her pro-tip on surviving the college years? “Learning to prioritise and manage time better is key for me. If you live on campus, here’s a heads-up: the hardest thing to give up is hanging out with friends. You need to learn to say no sometimes so that you can turn in that assignment on time,” she smiles.

To relax, the tea-lover brews matcha and explores new cafes when travelling. Learning new languages like Spanish, Japanese and especially Korean is also a fun past-time for the 22-year-old. She finds that learning foreign languages provides an important means to connect to locals when travelling, and also in making new friends. Thanks to her love for the K-wave, Stefani has also learned to speak the language fluently. 

Head First, Heart Follows

After her first year at NUS Business School, Stefani opted to specialise in Finance. Initially, this was a largely rational decision for Stefani, who felt it promised strong career prospects. But she discovered a sense of fulfilment in applying what she had learnt in university to ground circumstances during her industry internships. She concluded: “It unexpectedly but felicitously turned out to be a case of making a decision with my head first, and then falling in love with my choice later.”

Electing to specialise in Business Analytics at NUS Business School was another serendipitous choice that has worked out well for Stefani. Through bridging Finance to coding, more career pathways have become possible for her. A standout Business course for the coding enthusiast this semester is DBA4813: AI Strategies In Business where students learn to build artificial intelligence systems. “Professor Joel Li has his own AI start-up and shared ground realities and insightful perspectives from his personal experience. We were so inspired by his class that we almost wanted to become start-up entrepreneurs too!” she laughs.

Cracking the Code

“Coding gives me a sense of fulfilment, especially when my code runs successfully! In the future, I aspire to utilise coding & AI to simplify the process of making financial investments more accessible for all who might be interested, as well as update and innovate traditional ways of banking and finance through the use of fintech,” she shares.

On the common belief that one needs a lot of capital to start investing, Stefani is happy to debunk that myth. “I used to think that way too, but after taking a module on investment analysis during the NUS Student Exchange Programme (SEP), my entire outlook has changed.

In that course, we used demo accounts to practise investing in stocks. That not only helped me understand the investing process without the pressure of real money, but also bolstered confidence in my understanding and application. I think everyone should learn more about investing, as it is an important life-skill, and it is not as daunting as we may think!” she asserts. 

The Art of Attention & Communication 

Speaking from experience, after internships in major accounting firms like KPMG and Ernst & Young, where she gained exposure in business areas such as Merger & Acquisition, Financial Risk Management, and Business Development, Stefani feels that traits such as meticulousness, an attentive ear, and good interpersonal skills are vital, even in more quantitative fields like Finance and Business Analytics.

She affirms: “Domain expertise aside, my internships have taught me that good communication is a vitally important soft skill in workplace relationships. That includes awareness of social cues, body language and developing keen listening skills.”

For prospective students considering a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) in NUS, the Year 4 student opines that it is a solid choice: “Business has many specialisations – from Human Resources to Marketing. Try out the various modules in your first year to gain a clearer sense of your interests and aptitude. You have ample time for trial and error, since we only choose our specialisation in Year 2.” 

Freedom to Roam, Liberty to Grow

Counting her Temasek Hall residential experience and SEP to the University of South Carolina Darla Moore School of Business in USA as her most enriching NUS experiences, Stefani expressed that both have helped her grow beyond her comfort zones, and increased her sense of independence through living away from home.

In Temasek Hall,  Stefani was Vice-Captain of the Hall’s Softball Team, dabbled in soccer and track, participated in the Hall photography and design committees, raised funds for an overseas community project, and even took part in the Hall’s beauty pageant, Lush in 2021.

On the other side of the world in Columbia, South Carolina, Stefani spent weekends and term breaks during her SEP travelling to New York, doing a road trip to the Grand Canyon, visiting Disneyland and Universal Studios in Florida, and even crossing the border to South America, on a trip to Mexico with friends from Hong Kong, Japan, Vietnam and Germany. Ever the athlete, Stefani also joined the campus softball team of the University of South Carolina, soaking in the college culture of watching softball and baseball matches in her free time. 

The Future of Happiness 

Stefani considers happiness and exploring new experiences as the most important objectives in her life right now. Establishing a strong start to her career, and representing Singapore in the 2025 SEA Games, and possibly the next Asian Games, are some of her key goals for the future.

In the upcoming months, she also hopes to head to schools to share life skills such as mental resilience and financial literacy, as well as pragmatic ones such as coding, as part of GEN2050: Teach SG, a course offered to all NUS students. 

“Besides my personal goals, I would also like to contribute to the next generation of learners as I enjoy teaching and mentoring kids. I didn’t have a mentor growing up, and personally feel that having someone to walk with me in my early years would have been helpful. I hope to be that person to a younger kid now.”