NUS student Christopher Robin’s design inspires the graduating class of 2023 to illuminate the lives of their juniors

With a strong belief that a single act of kindness can go on to create ripples of positive impact, NUS Computing student, Christopher Robin (Class of 2023), challenged himself to create a design that will inspire his batchmates from the Class of 2023 to be a shining light for future generations of NUS students.

Christopher’s design is one of the winning entries at CREATION 2022, an annual digital design competition organised by the NUS Students’ Union Committee for Information Technology (NUSSU CommIT). The competition called upon NUS students to harness their creativity and design skills, creating meaningful artworks based on real-world problem statements. Among these statements, Christopher chose to create a key visual for the 2023 Commencement Class Giving (CCG) campaign, led by the Annual Giving team at the NUS Development Office (DVO).

_{Christopher Robin, NUS Computing student and designer of the CCG 2023 campaign key visual.}

His winning concept will be adapted and featured on NUS social media platforms, displayed at commencement ceremonies, and on banners across campus throughout the CCG23 campaign – serving as encouragement to graduating students to make a gift of S$23 in support of their juniors.

“Studying and working alongside bright, diverse and dedicated people I met in NUS has been a rewarding experience. I joined CREATION 2022 to challenge myself to design an artwork that can contribute meaningfully to the University, and inspire my batchmates to help our juniors achieve their dreams,” said Christopher, sharing his motivation for joining the competition.

Since 2007, over 23,000 graduating students have made gifts to the CCG campaign, and uplifted the lives of their juniors who are facing financial challenges, enabling them to reap the full benefits of the University’s transformative education experience. Together, they have raised close to S$1.7 million.

Christopher’s design concept thoughtfully embodies this long-standing tradition of giving. His design is shaped around an altruistic idea: Be the light that helps others grow.  With this central idea in mind, Christopher looked towards nature for inspiration, searching for relationships that could best convey the narrative he wanted to share.

He eventually settled on the sun and sunflowers as main elements in his design. Set against a backdrop of a clear blue sky and a mountain, sunflowers blossom majestically, shimmering under the sun’s rays.

_{Christopher’s winning design, featuring sunflowers and the sun as key design elements.}

“The sunflowers represent our juniors, waiting to fully bloom, and hoping that one day they can achieve their dreams. The mountain behind the sunflowers represents the long, adventurous journey they have to overcome to make their dreams come true. Even though the journey seems insurmountable, the warm rays from the sun give them hope,” Christopher explained.

“The sun represents the graduands in the Class of 2023 who have finally risen high in the sky, and are now supporting others to grow too. I hope my batchmates are inspired to be like the sun, illuminating the way and helping our juniors to blossom too,” he elaborated.

When the time comes for Christopher to celebrate his graduation together with his batchmates at their commencement ceremony, he too will be leaving a legacy that will help shape a brighter future for his juniors.

“As seniors who have had the privilege of completing our university education, I believe that our symbolic gift towards the CCG campaign is not only a farewell gift for our juniors. It is also our way of sharing the joy, and wishing our juniors good luck in their own NUS journeys,” shared Christopher. “Together, I believe we can make an impactful difference to their lives, and create ripples of positive impact.”