The University celebrated the graduation of 520 students at Commencement 2005 on 20 July. The students are the second batch of graduates to complete their tertiary or postgraduate education at SMU, among whom was the first cohort of students from the School of Accountancy, which began in 2001. Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Minister for Education, was guest-of-honour.
Admitted between 2000 and 2002, 392 students successfully graduated with Bachelor of Business Management, 88 graduated with Bachelor of Accountancy and three graduated with Bachelor of Science (Economics). Of these, 25 graduated with double degrees in Business Management and Accountancy or Business Management and Economics.
The ceremony also marked the graduation of 37 postgraduate students who represent the pioneer class to complete the Master of Science in Wealth Management. The programme, offered by SMU in collaboration with the Wealth Management Institute and the Swiss Banking School , is designed to meet a growing need in the financial sector for wealth managers who can provide rofessional advice to clients on the wide range of investment products and innovative financial services.
Awarded annually to the most outstanding student of each graduating cohort, this year's Blu Inc Valedictorian Award winner was Ms Lim Kexin, who graduated with a Bachelor of Accountancy (Summa Cum Laude) with a major in law. A PricewaterhouseCoopers Tax scholar, Ms Lim won the Blu Inc Valedictorian Award for her academic excellence and passion for community service. Consistently on the Dean's List for all four years of her studies, Ms Lim is also the recipient of the Ernst & Young Outstanding Student Leader Award and the PricewaterhouseCoopers Outstanding Achieve- ment Award. Ms Lim served as an SMU Ambassador and for her active volunteerism in Rotaract Club, she was given the Luxasia VIE Award in 2004. She is currently a tax associate with PwC.
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"History always remembers the first batch, few remember the second. But there is a Chinese saying, ' ' which means it is hard to create a business, but harder to maintain a legacy. This is a challenge for us. Remember, we repay the belief and love of others by doing the best of what we can."
Ms Lim Kexin, Blu Inc Valedictorian Award winner, in her speech to fellow graduands |
A group of SMU graduates have initiated and recently come together to form the SMU Alumni Association. This is to build up, from an early stage, a network of alumni who will maintain strong links with their alma mater in areas such as fund-raising, student recruitment, faculty support and placement, mentorship and industry partnership to strengthen university resources.
The fund-raising arm of the association has set itself the goal of raising $200,000 towards an SMU Alumni Scholarship Fund. The amount will generate enough interest to support the tuition fees of one needy student every year. More than 130 from the 2005 graduating class had contributed above $11,000 towards the fund in the form of their Senior Class Gift.
In recognition of their generous donation, SMU will be making it a tradition from this year to produce a Class Plaque for each graduating class, starting from the pioneer batch. The plaque will be laid on suitable locations within the city campus to remember the accomplishments of our graduates and mark the strong ties between university and alumni. |
