Letter to Professor Blackstone

Dear Professor Blackstone,

My name is Austin, a Y1 student from SIT Mechanical Engineering. I am writing this letter in hopes for you to get to know me better. Before studying in SIT, I was enrolled in the Diploma of Mechatronics and Robotics in Singapore Polytechnic. My love for engineering started from young. I liked building Legos and model kits, and later would move on to build PCs and fix up broken devices for my friends and I. My other hobbies includes playing table tennis, playing chess, swimming and reading.

You might be wondering why I made a slight pivot from Diploma in Robotics to a purely mechanical degree. This is because I felt my diploma was wide in breadth, but shallow in depth. It focuses on many aspects of engineering; we are taught mechanical, electrical and programming. After much deliberation to specialize in one aspect, I settled on a Mechanical Engineering degree as I feel it is easier to conceptualize, given that most of our work is observable to the naked eye. My goal is to be a mechanical engineer that is part of a big team, designing and manufacturing high quality, state of the art projects that can benefit and improve the quality of life of others.

Speaking of goals, I have two for this module. The first is to improve my presentation skills. Personally, I find my presentations to be lackluster and monotonous, and at times unsure of what to say. I would like to elevate them to be able to retain my audience’s attention while delivering the point across. The second goal I have is to be more proficient in my writing skills, for example, composing a formal email or penning the report for a project. Given the numerous project reports I will encounter in university, as well as email communication with colleagues in a formal setting afterwards, it is a valuable skill to master.

Other than the two aforementioned goals, I hope to be able to speak better in a public setting. Oftentimes, I feel nervous speaking to unfamiliar people or a large audience, with my body tensing up and my heart pounding as a result. I consider this one of my communication weaknesses and would like to work on it. On the flip side, I believe myself to be a good conversationalist when it comes to a small group, especially in a one-to-one setting. I can have engaging and enjoyable conversations with the other party. Being someone of a curious nature, I enjoy asking questions to get to know the person or subject at hand better, which I believe allows them to open up to the conversation. That said, there is always room for improvement and we should never stop looking to improve the different aspects of communication.

There is a quote that inspires me, “Alone, we can do so little; together we can do so much.” – Helen Keller, American author and activist. I believe that effective communication is needed to go from “doing little alone” to “doing much together”. Here’s to a great season of effective communication learning!

Yours faithfully,

Austin Ong

UCS1001-S20 student