08
April
2016
|
15:29
Asia/Singapore

Life after Antarctica

Spending 13 days in austere Antarctica with like-minded adventurers inspired NUS student Quang Nu Tuong Nhan not to give up onher dream of being an environmental changemaker.

The Master of Environmental Management (MEM) graduate student embarked on the International Antarctic Expedition 2016 from 13 to 25 March on an MEM scholarship sponsored by social enterprise Global Green Economic Forum. The Forum's parent company provided funding to one of the first MEM students to join the Expedition last year.

“Not only would I have an adventure of a lifetime to the last wilderness on Earth [but] the opportunity ticked off all my personal and professional aspirations,” she said.

Building team spirit was a prominent feature of the Expedition’s “Leadership on the Edge” programme. This was inculcated through activities such as helping teammates climb and descend snow mountains, and spurring on compatriots to take the “polar plunge”. Jumping into icy depths was the most memorable part of the trip for Tuong Nhan as she had to overcome her fear of the cold, deep water.

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Tuong Nhan emerging from her polar plunge (Photo: Dave Merron, Quark Expedition team)

“When I stood in the waiting room with my friends, the excitement overshadowed everything else. After my jump, I walked back to the waiting room to thundering cheers. We shook hands and high-fived all the way. It was the best moment ever!” she reminisced.

Tuong Nhan found kindred spirits among the 140 people from 30 countries who hailed from all walks of life, from scientists and non-governmental organisation workers to social activists and teachers. The Expedition and the sense of solidarity she experienced there have encouraged the environmentalist to press on even though the issues she studied about in the MEM programme seem insurmountable.

“The people I’ve met all share one thing in common — dedication to our environment and determination to make a difference. They made me believe that we can solve this problem together as long as we do not give up,” she explained.

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Tuong Nhan’s fellow travellers included 140 people from 30 countries (Photo: Oliver Wheeldon, 2041 Foundation)

One of the expedition’s goals is to engage and inspire the next generation of leaders to do their part in preserving Antarctica. Participants were schooled in the art of public speaking, where they learnt “the power of inspiring stories”. Tuong Nhan will be sharing about her trip at the upcoming Global Green Economic Forum in October. Additionally, the student is stitching together a video about passionate environmentalists whom she met on the expedition, which she hopes “will inspire people to take action for the environment”.

Tuong Nhan aspires to be an environmental consultant who can help corporations develop sustainable processes. Her “green” ambition was motivated by a scandal in 2008, when a company devastated a Vietnamese river’s ecosystem by releasing untreated sewage into it. The MEM student believes that her background as an auditor will enable her to bridge economic and environmental concerns.

Pollution-free Antarctica seems surreal to Tuong Nhan now, after returning to reality. “It was difficult to realise that the challenges we faced did not magically disappear just because we went to Antarctica and back. However, I believe the change happened inside me. Against all odds, I should give my aspiration, my dream, a chance,” she said.

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Wildlife on the coldest, windiest and driest continent on Earth has to be resilient (Photo: Quong Nu Tuong Nhan)