Reuben Yang

Please share a key highlight of your student life in SMU.

In my first week of my freshman year, I attended SMU Blockchain Club’s Blocknight 2022 event and by some stroke of luck was linked up with the right people and before long, launched Chainlex — a student-led blockchain law research team — together with some other law students from SMU. Never would I have imagined having such an opportunity, and none of this would have been possible if not for the zealous and willing people around me in school!

Please share more about your internship experience. 

I did an internship at Temasek Holdings’ cybersecurity department and opted to take a Leave of Absence to pursue this internship. The experience was nothing short of eye-opening and helped broadened my horizons. I was required to dissect and analyse business issues from multiple angles – from security to legal to budgetary constraints. Being in Temasek helped me develop professionally and helped me appreciate the intricacies involved in everyday business decisions.

There were many highlights during the internship such as being able to attend conferences, the team outings, the project discussions and being able to actually provide value as an intern.

What advice would you give to prospective students (especially your juniors from high school) who are thinking of applying to SMU?  

We hear a lot of chatter about work-life balance and the importance of it. Being in SMU helps you achieve just that — drinks, food, museums, there’s something for everybody around campus!