Growing together with her mentees

Year 2 student Yasmeen Tan Bte OMAR had modest goals when she embarked on NUS’ TeachSG programme. “If I could connect personally and inspire just one student to pursue their passions, I would be extremely happy.”

Fast forward a few months later, Yasmeen, who majors in Life Sciences and minors in Psychology, Forensic Science and Biophysics, has not only engaged and helped many students, but the experience proved “extremely enriching” for both her mentees and herself.

Her proudest moment from this journey was when she helped her students to resolve their problems and to pass their term test with flying colours. Bringing us behind the scenes, Yasmeen shares how she managed to break a quiet, introverted student out of his shell at a programme held at Peirce Secondary School. Coaxing him to take on a timekeeper’s role for class games made the student more comfortable with his peers. It was “truly illuminating”, Yasmeen says, when the student found the courage to interact with his classmates and encourage them to complete the games within the time limit.

She says, “By interacting with my mentees, I gained understanding of their diverse backgrounds…and some of them also opened up to me about their personal troubles and worries.”

Yasmeen, who also works as a Youth Trainer and Facilitator for HA Academy, where she leads workshops, camps and learning journeys for secondary school students to help them build friendships, notes that TeachSG complements her work experience as “the mode of teaching is mostly academic”.

Yasmeen derives joy in helping her mentees navigate the dynamics of a group, develop their personal identity and come into their own academically and socially. In the process of giving back to youths, Yasmeen developed communication and interpersonal skills and gained useful programme planning experience.

She hopes to take up the Communities & Engagement course on TeachSG in the future and to join other communities, such as Youth Corps, where she can lend a hand to guide young lives.

The TeachSG programme offers students the opportunity to mentor children from disadvantaged families to encourage social mobility and inclusiveness.