Jason Kuk

Why did you choose to come to SMU? 

When I was initially researching courses, I was not entirely sure what career I wanted for myself. I searched for testimonies from others and spoke to some professionals in different fields to get an idea of what kind of course might be suitable. I also looked at university graduate statistics in Singapore, such as the rate at which fresh graduates were able to land jobs, and the average starting pay across schools in Singapore.

The reason why I decided to pursue a degree in business would be because there is a rich variety of topics and majors that the business school has to offer. As we are given 2 years to choose a major, I felt like I had enough time to try out the university courses and core business modules in order to determine which fields gave me a sense of fulfilment.

What is one thing you were unprepared for about university life that you wish you knew before joining SMU?

Upon coming out from a long break of National Service and then an internship before the commencement of the semester, I was not prepared for the extent of academic vigour that is required in SMU. I personally feel that as students, we are pushed out of our comfort zones to learn and develop. Although I feel it is a necessary and beneficial part of my growth, I did not efficiently manage my time in my first semester and as such often felt overwhelmed when classwork deadlines clashed with project deadlines and I created a snowball effect of work for myself. As a result, the effect spilled over to me not doing as well as I hoped for in the finals as well as I did not allocate enough time to study after completing the projects.

However, I am happy to share that I reflected and learnt from my experiences in the first semester and began planning for classwork and projects in advance in order to avoid being blindsided. I have also put in more consistent effort since the first semester and am fortunate to have realized some fruits of my labour.

How has SMU’s city location enriched your university experience?

Personally, the experience has been good as SMU is accessible from most parts of Singapore, and I find it is easy to meet other students, teachers or friends nearby for networking, coffee or meals.

Please share a key highlight of your academic experience in SMU

A highlight would be joining SMU Golf as an EXCO member. I am quite attached to golf, having played for many years, but I found myself really enjoying the experience of being an EXCO member because of the friends that I managed to make in golf. We have multiple events as well as trainings in the 1 year term of being an EXCO member, and although there were ups and downs, I thoroughly enjoyed being a part of a team and making our events successful. On top of that, I also found myself enjoying the experience of teaching beginner SMU Golf members how to play golf on the range, something which I never experienced before as I would normally have to focus on myself while I competed. This opened my eyes to a whole new side of golf as well, and I was fortunate to be able to learn communication skills while coaching as well as forge meaningful friendships along the way. Fun fact: One of my closest friends that I have now was also a beginner at SMU Golf when I first started helping out in Y1S1!