Visiting Alma Mater As An Alumni

It's been over 10 years I've graduate from Nanyang Technological University and since graduation, haven't really set foot in campus. But thankfully over the past weekend, I manage to visit my Alma Mater once again but this time round as an alumni to provide my photography service to the graduating students.

There is so much nostalgia coming back here. So much have changed over the years, most of the buildings that were known to me were still there but there are many new ones that popped up especially with new courses offered by the school.

The day started with me within the graduation hall capturing the joyful moments of the graduating students. One by one, each of them walked up the stage which I once walked to receive the graduating certificate by the professor of their graduation session. Loads of nostalgia, remembering how I waited for my turn as I lined up at the side of the stage and waited for my name to be called. Though being a photographer now, the kind of nervous that I experience is more of missing the moment to capture the faces of the recipients than to actually receive the scroll.

Upon completing the ceremony itself, the next segment that I had to cover is the post ceremony party for the masters and doctorate students from the interdisciplinary degree and it was held at the N3 building where in the past is one of my favourite place to hang out, because there were ample benches available for me to either do my assignments or just laze around till the next lecture begins. And by far, the passage way did not have so much vegetation as what is seen in the picture above. I guess, there are definitely more efforts in terms of putting more greenery to the campus and beautifying the school as a whole.

This is the new concourse area which is built up I guess recently because during my time in school, there was no such concourse. While it is an outdoor concourse, it is relatively cooling which can be seen from the design of the roofing with its good ventilation. And this beautiful concourse even allowed the setup of a buffet line for students, staff and family members to interact. I like how the school had evolved and built up new stuff over the years and in terms of celebration, in the past there wasn't such parties after the ceremony. It is definitely a good effort from the school to let the student spend time with their professors and fellow classmates and catch on their school days that lead up to the graduation, laugh over the funny times or the tough times where everyone was trying their best to get through datelines and coming up with their thesis.

These are precious memories that will go with the students over the years and even for myself, the memories during my 4 years of undergraduate studies still vividly etched in my mind and this really calls for me to gather my buddies during my schooling years for a gathering. I believe it will be a session where we recollect all the fun times together right from orientation till we all graduate together and throw our graduation hats to the sky.

Thank you for coming by my post. Such friendships do last and do find time to gather together from time to time to maintain that relationship. Looking forward to meeting my uni buddies soon when we manage to find a time where everyone can make it for a gathering.

Join the Crypto Company campaign