‘What a difference a day makes / Twenty-four little hours’ is a line in the popular song ‘Cuando vuelva a tu lado’ (When I Return to Your Side), which was originally written in Spanish in 1934 but later rose in popularity when Dinah Washington released an English version. But perhaps it is now more apt to say "What a Difference a Year makes!”

A year ago in July 2019, the NUS Bukit Timah Homecoming garden party was held at the Bukit Timah campus. Then, NUS Alumni Sing-Along (ASA) members belted out songs sung from the 1940s to 2019. What a party that was!

However, this year, due to COVID-19 restrictions, an eHomecoming event was held and ASA was invited to contribute an eHomecoming sing-along video. With absolutely zero experience, some members happily volunteered but not all persevered to complete their individual videos. The NUSS band, Silver Jam, faithfully partnered them in producing the accompaniment. Having band members play their respective instrumental parts separately and putting everything together was a daunting task. But the group did it and did their best!

Resuming monthly sing-along sessions on Zoom was also challenging as unlike webinars, ASA sessions are very interactive. The first session kicked off in July with a first-ever talk on ‘An Introduction to Choral Training’ by homegrown and internationally-trained soprano and vocal trainer, Ms Felicia Teo. The second half of the session saw some of the ASA members leading the group to sing popular songs. Even though singing karaoke live over zoom was not ideal because of sound latency, members were not deterred.

Each year, ASA also celebrates Singapore’s National Day in August with a huge spread of delectable local food and boisterous singing, ukulele playing and line dancing. This year, although the food had to go, the singing and fun continued.

The second session of ‘An Introduction to Choral Training’ was held in August and saw members engaged in a breath control activity. Following the talk, members sang popular NDP songs like ‘We are Singapore’ and ‘Singapura’, led by fellow ASA members.

In addition, the ASA ukelele players are now jamming twice a month - after completing almost two months of finger-style training sessions!

Unlike previous years, ASA is unable to entertain and treat the elderly folks on the forthcoming NUS Day of Service on 5 September. Instead, the group will be delivering gifts to the 340 elderly residents of Ling Kwang Home. Hopefully, the gifts will make their day.

More exciting sessions and events are in the pipeline for the next few months. So do join the ASA for their sing-along sessions held on every second Monday of the month, and jam with them on the first and third Mondays of each month. You may even wish to lead a song or two!

Stay happy and healthy by ‘singing’... privately at home and on Zoom, of course!

Submitted by Ms Joanna Loo (Science '91)

A random conversation during the Circuit Breaker between three USP alumni of different “eras” led to a question – What has emerged in these “COVID-times” that wasn’t possible before?  Kay Chew Lin (Arts + USP '06), Kia Jie Hui (Business + USP '11) and Madhumitha Ardhanari (Arts + USP '14) felt like this question would elicit a good USP-style discussion and proposed holding a meeting for the USP alumni community to do just that.

The first session was held on 20 June, right when Phase 2 was announced, but there were around 20 attendees. It was a fruitful discussion that went on for two hours, and everyone shared about the good and bad of how COVID-19 has changed their lives. The session felt like a support group meeting where people were free to share their stories and get advice from the others. Seeing the good response, the organising trio decided to convert it into a monthly Storytelling series – an open space for USP alumni to share their COVID-related stories and struggles. Each month, alumni can volunteer to share their stories, moderate the session or just listen in and contribute to the discussion.

During the July session, the discussion focused on the concept of boundaries and topics surrounding food during COVID-time, led by Stacy Ooi (Arts + USP '18) and Janelle Limqueco (Science + USP '15) respectively. These were very apt and relatable topics as while people are in different parts of the world and at different stages of life, these were common issues that everyone faced during this unusual time.

In the most recent August session, which was also held as part of USP’s e-Homecoming 2020, the group had the honour of having Galven Lee (Arts + USP '14) and Suanne Chan (Arts '11), who designed “A Good Chat For Migrant Workers”, a chatbot that helps migrant workers seek assistance and access information about the COVID-19 situation easily. Their project was one of six projects picked for seed funding for the Design for Good initiative by the Design Business Chamber Singapore. They talked about how the project came about and how they managed it alongside their work.

While we may not be able to catch up with one another in the way we used to, having these sessions online has one great advantage – it allows USP alumni who are overseas to tune in and catch up with everyone else, back home or otherwise; there are literally no boundaries if we cherish every chance we can get to see each other. The USP alumni community is now keenly looking forward to the next storytelling session on 19 September!

Submitted by Ms Tan Sin Yee (Arts '11)