It started with a movie
Diyanah with her parents before the commencement ceremony
Siti Nur Diyanah Binte Hardy watched a horror movie one evening titled Case 39. The 2009 film featured a social worker called to protect an abused child from her parents, only to discover more sinister forces at play. But rather than covering her eyes, Diyanah felt herself drawn to the social worker's character as it seemed like "an amazing mission to dedicate one's life to. The rest, as they say, is history.
On 13 July she became the first Malay student to graduate with a First Class Honours degree in Social Work from the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, with a Cumulative Average Point of 4.52, out of 5. "It's not the most inspirational story, I don't even know if the movie did very well, but it did expose me to social work. I remember thinking, I want to do something like this.
Adopting a less traditional path, Diyanah studied at Madrasah Al-Maarif Al-Islamiah, a religious school for Islamic instruction, for 12 years before deciding to enroll in the Department of Social Work at NUS as it "was best aligned with [her] interest. She is the first madrasah student to have gained admission into the Department's undergraduate degree programme in the last 20 years. However, she admitted that she felt unsure at the beginning. "When I first joined NUS, I had this mentality that I was just a madrasah girl in a university full of kids from really great schools, she said. She later realised that her fears were unfounded and stemmed from naivety.
Her stellar academic results aren't the only testament that Diyanah has found her calling. As an undergraduate, she actively sought learning beyond the classroom. "A lot of times we tend to define ourselves, especially in Singapore, based on how well we do in school and I didn't want to do that. I'm grateful but I would like to think that I am more than my academic achievements, explained Diyanah. During her freshmen year, she embarked on a 14-day youth expedition to Cambodia, working with humanitarian organisation Mercy Relief to educate children on hygiene. This cemented her commitment to the social work profession.
Diyanah working with children in Kampong Thom, Cambodia as part of a Youth Expedition Project
Eager to give back to the institution which had played a huge role in shaping her life, she also initiated the Maarif Maths Mentoring (M3) programme with her former schoolmate. "We heard there was a couple of students from our madrasah that weren't doing well in mathematics so we thought maybe we could start a programme to help these students. We wanted to create a system where students who graduated would come back to help…,said Diyanah. What started off as six alumni, each mentoring two to three Secondary Four students, has since expanded into 20 mentors helping about 250 students from different levels.
Since May, Diyanah has embarked on a six-month internship with the Singapore Committee for UN Women as part of the public education team for the Girls2Pioneers campaign, which aims to increase the number of women in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) industries. Working with students, parents, teachers and employers, she hopes to overturn the misconception that the STEM industries are unsuitable for women and instead, encourage a more conducive environment for them to contribute and flourish.
Diyanah is particularly passionate about supporting the needs of women and children. Her goal is to carve a career in social policy work in a non-governmental setting or to work with local children's homes to implement community programmes. In her words, "My biggest hope upon graduation is to be able to give back to the community in any way I can. And to think it all started with a movie.
Commencement 2015 takes place from 6 to 24 July 2015, with a total of 10,219 graduates receiving their degrees over 23 ceremonies. Click here for more on Commencement 2015, including a live webcast of each ceremony.
