Post by Yi Heng Chou

My Kickstarter journey started in February, when Jerome Raphael Teo tricked me into going to the library before class. He proceeded to ask me if I was ready to co-lead Kickstarter this year with my then-moot partner Ameerul Putra Bin Abdul Wahab. Kickstarter is SMU Yong Pung How School of Law's academic orientation for incoming freshmen. This year, Kickstarter culminated in the inaugural pledge-taking, led by Prof Michelle Lim, to impress on students the importance of professional values in law. We were joined by Dean Pey Woan Lee, Prof Loo Wee Ling, Meredith Soh and Jaime Song in a panel discussion about the nuances of ethics in law. (We also made it onto the news: https://lnkd.in/gTvv5wmK) Kickstarter also introduced freshmen to their “extended family” within and beyond law school. We had the privilege of hosting alumni (Hayley Pang Hui Min, Charlotte Tan, Jiamin Leow and Nicholas Poon), and lawyers from Drew & Napier LLC, Withers KhattarWong and Eugene Thuraisingam LLP. Thank you for carving time out of your schedules to inspire the freshmen as they begin their journey in law. The cockles in my heart were also warmed by our friends who spent their summer with us: • Song Chye Huey, Ryan Kan and Sean Cheng who exemplified the wholesomeness of law students; • Yu Xin P., Russell Ong, Christian Foo, Zoe A. Toh, Dilys Huang and Brenden Lim, who moderated candid conversations with the lawyers; • Alena Hua, Zhao Yan Soh, Krystal Tan and Zoe who taught the freshmen how to say “I agree”; • Chua Rui Rong, Yin Buo Xiang, De Silva Benedict Haley and Rachel T. who exposed them to the eye-opening world of crimes; and • Sean Cheng, Wei Qi Foong, Christian Foo, Beatrice Tan, Wesley Wong and Ramesh who drowned them in memos. I am immensely grateful to the school, whose strong support from Day 1 made Kickstarter possible, especially Dean Lee Pey Woan, Prof Michelle Lim, Prof Edward Ti, Prof Alvin See, Prof Darius Chan, Prof Benjamin Ong, Ms Pixie Seet, Mr Kenneth Liang and Mr Alvin Chee. Thank you for the guidance and assistance, and your patience with us over the past 6 months! A huge shout out to our Org Comm too: Paw Yu Xin, Beatrice Tan, Rachel Chong, Bhavani Neha, Dilys Huang, Brenden Lim, Marcus Lee (利威圻), Russell Ong and Hui Xi K.. They spent countless hours doing thankless work to deliver a memorable Kickstarter for the freshmen. Thank you all for leading by example! Lastly, to Ameerul, our VP and X Factor. 2024 has been wild: from mooting together one fine Saturday, to planning Kickstarter through summer, to finally executing Kickstarter last week. Thank you for spending National Girlfriend Day with me and for 6 months of brotherhood. I'll see you on the top step for Property Law. It has been an honour facilitating the freshmen's induction into law school. Thank you to everyone once again! 📸: Yu Xin, Edric, Natalie Tay, Sau Kei and Claris.