Turning what they received into what they gave

Text: Sadia Roohi

For alumni couple Mr Xu Wei and Ms Yang Yawen, contributing to others was never something they planned to do later in life. It has simply been part of how they live.

"We have never really seen giving back as something reserved for later in life," they say. "We benefit from the support of others every day, from family, friends, teachers, mentors, communities, and we try to give back whenever we can."

That contribution, they explain, does not need to be grand. It can be as simple as helping a friend carry luggage home from a trip, or bringing their children to spend time with their grandparents.

"The form matters less than the intent to support one another when we are able to."

They see their relationship with NTU in much the same way. As students at Nanyang Business School (NBS), they benefited from the guidance of professors, seniors and mentors. While still undergraduates, they gave back by helping juniors. After graduation, they stayed involved through mentoring and coaching case competition teams.

Today, they are giving back in another way, through the NBS W.Y. Career Catalyst Grant, which they set up to help NBS students pursue overseas internships and other opportunities regardless of their financial circumstances.

"This was never really a decision that 'now is the time to give back'," says Xu Wei. "It's a continuation of something we've always believed. Contribute what you can, when you can, in whatever way you can."

Alumni couple Xu Wei (right) and Yawen (left) set up the NBS W.Y. Career Catalyst Grant to help NBS students pursue overseas internships and opportunities.

The experiences that shaped them

Much of that belief traces back to their own experiences at NTU.

An overseas exchange in Europe, made possible by the scholarships that supported their time at NTU, exposed them to people from different countries, cultures and walks of life. It broadened their minds to different perspectives, and planted the idea that they might one day want to work abroad.

That desire stayed with them after graduation. A later stint working in New York reinforced it further, and left them with a simple feeling: "There is so much to experience, and so little time."

For Yawen, another formative experience came through a leadership stint with the NBS Accountancy and Business Club, which represents all NBS undergraduates.

"That experience made me realise that I am driven by work that is purposeful and makes an outsized impact," she says, reflecting on how it first drew her toward a career in public service.

For Xu Wei, the turning point was a final-year internship at a hedge fund. Having studied accounting, he had previously viewed the industry as out of reach. "That internship gave me a first real window into the industry and changed my sense of what was possible," he says. It shaped his interest in investing and, eventually, his current career path.

Paying opportunity forward

It is this belief in the value of exposure to overseas markets, cultures and ways of working that led the couple to establish the NBS W.Y. Career Catalyst Grant.

They want NBS students to have the freedom to pursue overseas internships and other opportunities that might otherwise otherwise be out of reach.

"We want students to choose opportunities because they genuinely fit their interests and goals, not because of what they can afford," they say.

The couple believe such experiences are especially valuable at a time of rapid technological change.

"With AI accelerating skills obsolescence and job churn, we believe the human connections built through overseas internships matter more, not less," they explain. "Technical skills can be automated or become outdated quickly, but the relationships, cultural fluency and judgement built from working alongside people in different markets are much harder to replicate or disrupt."

For them, the grant is ultimately about helping students build capabilities that endure, while they are still young enough and have the flexibility to explore.

But Xu Wei and Yawen’s vision extends beyond the students who receive the grant. The couple have been inspired by alumni communities at universities in the United States, where graduates remain closely connected to their institutions for decades. They hope NTU can build something similar: a community where alumni mentor students, open doors, share experiences, and in time, give back in whatever way they can.

"That's the bigger idea to us, that this is not just a financial contribution, but helping build a community where each generation creates more opportunity for the next."

Start where you are

For young alumni who feel they are not yet in a position to give back, the couple offer simple encouragement.

"You're already more successful today than you were yesterday, and there's almost always someone who can benefit from your time, experience or kindness."

As circumstances change, they add, so too can the way one gives.

"Even small, consistent acts of support add up to something meaningful over time. Start where you are, with what you have."

If their story resonates with you and has inspired you to start where you are, visit the NTU Giving website to explore the different ways you can give back to NTU.