Fiona Freeman-Grundei
Class of 2020
Attending Yale-NUS College was a dream come true for me. I relished the opportunity to explore the world, step outside of my comfort zone, and learn to think critically in such a beautiful campus, where I got the support I needed to grow academically, personally, and later, professionally.
As a student, I discovered a passion for learning about other cultures and the experiences of people all over the world, which led me to study anthropology and conduct research on marginalised communities in Singapore and abroad. Academically, it was a place that taught me to think critically and empathetically, and gave me a foundation of advocacy through which to understand the world around me. But Yale-NUS was more than that; to me, it was a community and a place I felt like I belonged. I got to lead the women’s basketball team to IFG championships and medals, and got to travel overseas to compete with other schools around Asia and the Middle East, which was a childhood dream of mine. I’ll never forget being an Orientation Group Leader to a wonderful group of incoming students, and having to struggle through learning a mass dance which I then had to help teach, despite my lack of dancing skills. And I was always grateful for the opportunity to get involved and feel like my voice was being heard by the institution, especially as the senior representative for my batch in the student government. But above all, the things I miss most about Yale-NUS are the little moments, with suitemates or teammates or classmates, over coffee at Brewhouse or a meal in the dining hall, because the Yale-NUS community is full of kind and funny and caring people who helped make life exciting and challenging and fun.
After I graduated, I wanted to give something back to the community and the institution that had given me so much, and to pay it forward by helping to provide the same opportunity to future generations of students. I decided to apply to be a part of the Admissions and Financial Aid team as an Admissions Counsellor, where I worked with current students and prospective students alike to enrol new batches. After the announcement of the closure, I moved into the Campus Life team in the Student Affairs Office. This move meant that I could contribute to creating a community of consent, respect, and inclusion within Yale-NUS, and support students to do the same in greater Singapore. I worked as a member of the Intercultural Engagement Office, the Student Accessibility Support Team, and the team of the Survivor Support Advisors, all efforts to promote inclusion and lower barriers to engagement within our community: to make it a safer and kinder place for our students. I loved working with students, both through leading a team of stellar Admissions Fellows, and through supervising the incredible students on the Kingfishers for Consent (KFC) team as they executed year-long campaigns and led workshops and events to promote consent, comprehensive sex education, and healthy relationships. My favourite moments of working at Yale-NUS had to include KFC’s Sexual Wellness Week, Diversity Week, and working with my colleagues in the Intercultural Engagement office to facilitate Inter-Group Dialogue sessions with students looking at race, ethnicity & nationality, and sexuality & gender.
Learning to create inclusive spaces and support students at Yale-NUS was incredibly fulfilling and meaningful work for me, and it led me first to pursue a Masters in Education and Social Justice from Lancaster University, which I completed in 2021, and then to enrol in a Masters of Social Work at the University of Melbourne, which I will complete next year. The work that I did at Yale-NUS helped me further my passion for social justice and advocacy work, and to bring it into the professional space. I also loved spending time and having a laugh with my colleagues, playing games after work or trying to dream up new fun ways to engage students in cultural events and activities. A few of us even decided to dress up as my boss Dave Stanfield for Halloween one year, which I’ll never forget.
I feel so lucky that I was a student during the time that Yale-NUS existed. Attending and working at Yale-NUS was a life-changing experience that shaped who I am and how I experience the world, and I will always be grateful for the memories I have, and the community that I am now a part of.
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