Tanglin Trust School

SINGAPORE

TANGLIN TRUST SCHOOL

Jesse Wang,University College, First Year Undergraduate, MPhys Physics, Remote Working

Work Projects

Most of my internship was spent supporting students with their applications to UK universities, with an emphasis on Oxford and Cambridge. This involved reading and providing feedback on students' personal statements, and meeting with students over video calls to offer applications-related advice. I also created an interview support resource for students applying to STEM subjects. Tanglin Trust School set me up with a school email address and helped to organise a safeguarding induction session, but otherwise I was asked to work fairly independently.

Overall, I'd say that I worked with around 30 Oxbridge-aiming students over the course of the internship, and a further 30 non-Oxbridge applicants. In addition, the guidance team asked me to deliver two virtual presentations near the end of the internship over Teams: a brief talk about applying to Oxbridge to prospective applicants in year 12 and their parents, followed by a physics enrichment lecture in which I introduced the basic ideas of special relativity to a general high school audience.

Daily Life

As the internship was remote, my working hours varied. Some weeks were naturally busier than others, depending upon when students sent me their drafts. In a busy week, I'd wake up at around 8-9 in the morning and review statements until noon. I'd fix myself lunch and start work again at 1pm, often working until 4 or 5 in the afternoon. In a quieter week, I had a lot more free time given the lack of a teaching role, and used this to take a break from reading statements all day; I made time for plenty of piano practise and met up with a few friends from school.

Barring the occasional early morning meeting and a couple of scheduled presentations in the evenings (outside of regular school hours), I really appreciated the flexibility that came

with remote work. In addition, the guidance counsellors were all kind and supportive, so at no point did I feel stressed or overwhelmed about the work.

Lasting Impressions

Overall, I was satisfied with the experience. A few students wrote to me saying they really appreciated the support I gave, which was gratifying to hear! I was surprised by how efficient I had become by the end.

I'm keeping my career options open at the moment and am unsure whether I will choose to work in education in the future. That being said, this experience has taught me a lot about working in a school environment with students of this age group and has offered me insight into the education sector, particularly in the university guidance counselling area. Preparing the physics enrichment lecture and writing an interview guide for STEM applicants have also given me an opportunity to develop my science communication skills, both verbal and written. Science communication wasn't something that I had seriously considered before, but after the internship I feel like it is an area that I am willing to explore further.