Exploring the Public and Social Sectors in Singapore
Americans do care about the welfare of citizens in other nations, are willing to get involved and want to help improve quality of life worldwide. This, I believe, is what people saw when they met me during my U.S. Department of State-sponsored Fulbright Student Program in Singapore.
Furthermore, they saw that an individual can be physically different – in my case, missing a hand – and remain physically active, socially engaged and have a tremendous impact in his or her undertakings. Having Fulbrighters from minority backgrounds additionally demonstrates to the world that America is a nation whose promise of equal opportunity and achieving one’s potential is available to all citizens.
Serving as a Fulbright student in Singapore marked one of the best years of my life. Like Hawaii, which I left for my experience abroad, Singapore hosts a very multi-ethnic population. Citizens come mostly from Chinese, Malaysian and Indian descents, and while there, I learned about public sector leadership in their culture. Additionally, I observed the state of their social entrepreneurship and contributed to it by volunteering with Singapore’s non-profit organizations serving citizens with disabilities.
One of my regular and most meaningful cross-cultural experiences involved training in the martial arts with two local masters, or Sifus, as they are called. They graciously allowed me into their schools where I was the only American. The training was conducted in a combination of Mandarin (which I’d been studying) and English. Through hard work and demonstrating a serious purpose, I had the privilege of being accepted into each “family” and joining them in their after-class, social activities. My classmates saw a “brother” who shared their passion and commitment and kept up with them while missing all five fingers on one hand, speaking a different native language and being of a different ethnic ancestry.
In working with a Singaporean Kung-Fu master to develop a program for improving the physical health and well-being of teenagers with muscular dystrophy, I felt the combination of pride in representing America and the satisfaction of touching people’s lives in another country. Through a non-profit organization called Teach Me Services, we taught these teenagers, who all used wheelchairs, isometric exercises and chi-kung martial arts breathing exercises by incorporating equal doses of humor, compassion and encouragement. I will always remember their looks of accomplishment and the laughs we shared. The staff told us that the teenagers eagerly looked forward to our training sessions as a highlight of their week. It is my hope that, in some small way, my circumstances helped inspire them to pursue their dreams and broaden their belief regarding what is possible in their lives. Engaging in volunteer activities with Teach Me Services and other non-profit organizations demonstrated to me that the intrinsic rewards of helping others are a common experience all over the world.
Before flying to Singapore, I spent ample time wondering how I would be received by people there – those with and without disabilities. Then, I decided to take on the responsibility for making whomever I met comfortable around me. Instead of waiting to see how people would react, I would proactively explain my situation – often using humor. I learned that people mirrored back to me how I felt about myself. If I was comfortable with the situation and quickly explained it in a relaxed, natural manner, they responded the same way. I also found it helpful to develop both brief and detailed explanations to the question, “What happened to your hand?” and to learn about prevalent attitudes towards the disability population, relevant laws and who the role models with disabilities were in Singapore.
Professionally, my Fulbright experience greatly enhanced my interpersonal skills, leadership ability, understanding of Asian cultures and ability to live and work cross-culturally. Interviewing senior public sector officials allowed for a great deal of learning regarding the public sector. These interviews included both elected leaders and career civil servants, including the Prime Minister, his Permanent Secretary and a former Member of Parliament, Mrs. Claire Chiang. As an example of an enduring friendship, Mrs. Chiang and I have not only remained friends since my Fulbright, we have also collaborated on a variety of social entrepreneurship endeavors. Engaging in conversations with many of Singapore’s citizens on the topics of governance and society provided additional information and perspectives that I couldn’t have achieved without being immersed in the country.
My Fulbright grant had a profound and lasting impact on my life. I thoroughly enjoyed developing lasting friendships with Singaporeans from all walks of life; being in the warm and lush tropical setting; and eating the many delicious cuisines. It developed a grander vision for my life, expertise in my area of emphasis, and conviction of what can be accomplished in the world. Moreover, it developed venues for transnational collaboration on issues of mutual concern.
The Fulbright U.S. Student Program awards approximately 1,500 grants annually to graduating college seniors and graduate students to pursue post-baccalaureate academic study, teaching assistantships or supervised research in more than 125 countries worldwide.
