Follow NTU REP student Sarah Wong at UC Berkeley as she takes on rigorous academics, new cultures, and self-driven growth shaped by passion, resilience and holistic learning.

Third-year Renaissance Engineering Programme (REP) student Sarah Wong, currently on a nine-month exchange at University of California, Berkeley, clings firmly to the NTU ethos that one should strive for a holistic education. Which is why Sarah is taking two core science modules at Berkeley and electives in jazz and astronomy.

“Whatever the Berkeley students do, they go into it with great depth and with passion, whether it is music or science,” says Sarah. This spirited 21-year-old does not lack passion. After a few jazz lessons, Sarah joined a campus rock band as its keyboardist. Yes, a rock band, even though her training is in classical piano and violin. Science and rock music can gel, says Sarah, pointing to rock guitarist Brian May, who has a doctorate in astrophysics.

Sarah is sinking her teeth into astronomy, a subject she knew little about before enrolling in Berkeley.  “In the beginning, I really ‘saw stars’, bewildered by the complexity of the constellations. I started from ABC while some classmates have been seasoned stargazers since high school. But I gradually caught up with them. I cannot let NTU lose face,” she chuckles.

Sarah initially faced challenges in her bioengineering class. “Some say Berkeley has a laid-back culture. Not true. In my bioengineering class, the bachelor’s and master’s students study together. The lectures can be very rigorous. Some postgrad students ask questions I can barely keep up with, and I often have to seek clarification from the professors after class. Good thing that, like in NTU, Berkeley lecturers are very approachable and set aside time each week for student consultations. And luckily, we are graded on a different bell curve from the postgrad students.”

She adds: “American students are very forthcoming, asking questions without fear of being proven wrong. The Asian in me is learning to be more expressive in class.”

At Berkeley, project work mainly involves self-directed learning. For example, if a bioengineering team is assigned to build a medical device, they have to figure out how to do it from scratch on their own. Project groups consist of students from diverse cultures, with different perspectives on problem-solving. And being there made Sarah realise just how self-motivated and resourceful her cohort of 30 REP students is.

If Sarah can find the time, she hopes to join more Berkeley activities, such as the Biofuel Club. She has also been going on weekend hikes at national parks. Sarah says Californians take their outdoor activities seriously. “These hikes are not strolls in the park,” she says.

This exchange is Sarah’s second stint in California as an NTU student. Her first was during her second year, when she competed in a case competition with an NTU team that finished third. She has also been to Suzhou and Chongqing for two-week winter exchange programmes, experiences that left her mulling the prospect of working in China.

Sarah stands out in her own way – as an engineer aspiring to be an entrepreneur, and a rocker gazing at the stars.

Accept now