Natasha Alexandra Japardi

Natasha Alexandra Japardi is a third-year Mathematical Sciences student from the School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences (SPMS) and is a driven leader committed to community outreach. For the past two years, she has dedicated herself to the SPMS Club’s Welfare portfolio, rising to the position of Welfare Director. In this role, Natasha has been a leader in organising and executing community initiatives, successfully engaging student volunteers in programmes with underprivileged children, such as with the New Life Student Care at Woodlands and Jelapang, and collaborating with community partners like the Brickland Citizens’ Consultative Committee (CCC) and NTUC Health Tampines to engage with elderly participants.

As Welfare Director, Natasha established two significant community projects in partnership with external organisations. Her first project, Silver Circle Reunion, works with St. Andrew’s Nursing Home and aims to foster meaningful interactions between student volunteers and elderly residents through activities, games, and regular visits. Her second project, SciQuest, is a STEM-focused outreach programme partnered with Gladiolus Place, a residential home for teenage girls. SciQuest’s goal is to help Gladiolus Place ‘s residents develop problem-solving skills and build confidence by integrating STEM learning with community service activities that foster curiosity and teamwork.

For her DUSA project, Natasha strategically allocated the award funds to further develop and expand both the Silver Circle Reunion and SciQuest initiatives.

For Silver Circle Reunion, the funding allowed the team to purchase more resources for bonding activities such as art supplies and refreshments, and, crucially, to introduce a new gardening initiative. This activity provided elderly residents and student volunteers with a new bonding opportunity that encouraged physical exercise and fostered a vital sense of purpose for the residents.

For SciQuest, funds were used to acquire hands-on science kits, books, and materials, enabling the team to organise more interactive and enriching sessions for participants. Additionally, a portion of the funds was dedicated to providing pet care essentials for the residents at Gladiolus Place to use during their animal-assisted therapy programmes, which have been aiding them in coping with traumatic childhood experiences.

Cheng Wing Yee

Cheng Wing Yee, a second-year student from the Biological Sciences programme at the School of Biological Sciences, has built a very active track record in community engagement. Her extensive volunteer experience demonstrates remarkable range: from assisting in Chinese New Year spring cleaning for elderly residents’ homes during the NTUC Health Senior Day Care in Bukit Merah, to organising a virtual travel experience for elderly residents of St Joseph’s Home. Notably, she has also co-founded and led activity-based sessions for patients whilst volunteering at the Institute of Mental Health.

This rich community engagement background has shaped her approach to her DUSA project, Jurassic Juniors. Her past experiences highlighted the importance of hands-on, interactive activities in capturing attention and making learning enjoyable. This reinforced her belief that creating meaningful experiences requires sensitivity, imagination, and a willingness to see things from the participants’ point of view. With this philosophy in mind, Wing Yee set out to not only give her participants a memorable experience but to awaken a greater curiosity toward the natural world and empower them to continue exploring.

Jurassic Juniors successfully combined education, exploration, and social interaction for children from low-income families attending Kukoh+, Youth and Child Development Centre by Yong En, a registered charity. By centring the learning journey on a visit to the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum, the dinosaur and natural history specimens housed within served to generate curiosity and make scientific concepts tangible for the children. Participants received a guided tour of the exhibits, engaged in interactive activities around the museum, and were given the chance to observe specimens up close while learning scientific concepts from professional museum guides.

Click  here to view the report of the completed project.

​Click  here to view the poster.

Tay Jia Wen

Now in her third year of the Biological Sciences and Psychology programme at the School of Biological Sciences, Jia Wen is a veteran volunteer and seasoned leader in community engagement. In 2023, she served as the project director for Beyond Expectations, a mentorship initiative with the community development agency Beyond Social Services, where she successfully led 20 volunteers in providing essential academic and socio-emotional support to disadvantaged youth in the Henderson estate. Her dedication to serving the community extends to healthcare, where she is an active volunteer with HCA Hospice Care’s Medi Minder programme, which trains volunteers to provide nursing care for families with children living with life-limiting illnesses.

Her DUSA project, Beyond Learners, was a direct extension of her existing relationship with Beyond Social Services. The project’s goal was to support the academic and socio-emotional needs of children and youth living in rental estates. She structured the initiative around three distinct approaches: academic growth, socio-emotional development, and recognition and affirmation.

For academic growth, Jia Wen used DUSA funds to purchase learning resources such as workbooks and stationary, as well as snacks for the participants. She and her team brought in volunteers to teach weekly primary and secondary school sessions, keeping a close track of participants’ progress to maintain academic growth.

To address participants’ socio-emotional needs, volunteers conducted weekly workshops designed to build positive self-esteem, establish healthy self-identities, and develop emotional resilience. These sessions utilised activities like art therapy to guide participants in understanding and expressing emotions, improve social awareness, and develop responsible decision-making skills.

Finally, to recognise and affirm the hard work of the children and youth, Jia Wen and her team planned celebratory holiday programmes. These field trips to the Jacob Ballas Children’s Garden provided participants and their families with a fun day out, a hearty meal, and a presentation of certificates that celebrated their achievements in the project.

Jia Wen’s meticulous planning ensured that Beyond Learners became a comprehensive support system designed for maximum impact. Her work demonstrates her deep commitment to addressing the holistic needs of underprivileged children and youth in the community. 

Click  here to view the report of the completed project.

​Click  here to view the poster.