Geraldine, the go-between
PROFILE by Florence Tang
18 October 2011, Tuesday
For many, the students and the administration are like oil and water: different entities that do not mix.
But Geraldine Lee, director of Community Engagement and Development at the National University of Singapore, wants to change that.
Having been a resident adviser to Kuok Foundation House for eight years, Lee is in the unique position of being an administrator who understands some part of the student’s lifestyle.
“If you go into the residences and the halls, you know that life begins after midnight. Life does not begin in the morning. Nobody is ever awake at seven, eight or nine in the morning if there is a choice. And none of our facilities and services are geared that way,” she said.
One of the problems, Lee highlights, is that facilities like swimming pools and the library are not popular in the mornings and not available for use throughout the night.
In the past year, she has been working with University Campus Infrastructure, drawing on her rich experience of living and meeting with students to drive the development of spaces tailored to meet students’ needs.
The easy way out would have been to employ professionals to plan and build these spaces. However, Lee pioneered a collaborative effort between UCI and the School of Design and Environment, to allow students to design these spaces instead.
The project, fortyspaces, gives architecture students an opportunity to play an active role in tailoring usable and attractive spaces suited for the student lifestyle.
“It was just a thought, we have all these expertise, we are teaching our students to do good things right? And to go out there once they graduate and do real things. Why don’t we give them real projects on campus?” she said.
Lee hopes that partnerships like these between the administration and students will become more commonplace in the future. In the past months, she has also been bringing students into the UCI office to share their school lives with the staff.
Though Lee has her job cut out for her, she maintains that students are her motivation. She is most enthusiastic when talking about the students she has met, especially the ones she knew at KFH, who are – she smiles – still Facebook friends now.
“I really enjoy working with students and I really enjoy living with students,” Lee said. “The idea is, this age group is what I enjoy. As such, I pay more attention.”
18 October 2011, Tuesday
For many, the students and the administration are like oil and water: different entities that do not mix.
But Geraldine Lee, director of Community Engagement and Development at the National University of Singapore, wants to change that.
Having been a resident adviser to Kuok Foundation House for eight years, Lee is in the unique position of being an administrator who understands some part of the student’s lifestyle.
“If you go into the residences and the halls, you know that life begins after midnight. Life does not begin in the morning. Nobody is ever awake at seven, eight or nine in the morning if there is a choice. And none of our facilities and services are geared that way,” she said.
One of the problems, Lee highlights, is that facilities like swimming pools and the library are not popular in the mornings and not available for use throughout the night.
In the past year, she has been working with University Campus Infrastructure, drawing on her rich experience of living and meeting with students to drive the development of spaces tailored to meet students’ needs.
The easy way out would have been to employ professionals to plan and build these spaces. However, Lee pioneered a collaborative effort between UCI and the School of Design and Environment, to allow students to design these spaces instead.
The project, fortyspaces, gives architecture students an opportunity to play an active role in tailoring usable and attractive spaces suited for the student lifestyle.
“It was just a thought, we have all these expertise, we are teaching our students to do good things right? And to go out there once they graduate and do real things. Why don’t we give them real projects on campus?” she said.
Lee hopes that partnerships like these between the administration and students will become more commonplace in the future. In the past months, she has also been bringing students into the UCI office to share their school lives with the staff.
Though Lee has her job cut out for her, she maintains that students are her motivation. She is most enthusiastic when talking about the students she has met, especially the ones she knew at KFH, who are – she smiles – still Facebook friends now.
“I really enjoy working with students and I really enjoy living with students,” Lee said. “The idea is, this age group is what I enjoy. As such, I pay more attention.”