NUSSU honours everyday heroes

NUSSU launched its Thanks!NUS campaign with an Appreciation Picnic for unsung heroes on campus

The NUS Students’ Union (NUSSU) paid tribute to the University’s unsung heroes on 16 January with a Thanks!NUS Appreciation Picnic, which launched its Thanks!NUS campaign. A crowd of about 100 staff comprising cleaners, bus drivers, security guards and librarians were treated to a catered lunch and presented with goodie bags that contained useful everyday items. 

“Most of the time, people only see you in the background, but the students appreciate all the things you have done for the University and for them, and therefore this is just a token for them to say thank you to you,” said NUS Provost Professor Tan Eng Chye, who addressed staff members after their lunch.

The Picnic at the Central Library Forum was part of a three-month-long campaign that consists of several components including a specially-designed Thanks! Card that students can hand out as a token of appreciation, a social media campaign, and a Community Wall that profiles prominent NUSSU volunteers and features volunteers’ thank-you messages.

Instead of dusting shelves, vacuuming carpets or emptying garbage bins at the Central Library, cleaner Vasantha Muthayya could take a breather from work. Vasantha has worked at NUS for four years and has won over many student friends through her linguistic abilities—she is able to converse, not only in English, but also in Mandarin and the Chinese dialects of Hokkien, Teochew and Cantonese, which she picked up as a child from friends.

“It’s nice. I’m enjoying it. We can see each other and meet our friends,” said the affable cleaner, of the Picnic.

Veteran NUS Librarian Ms Chong Loy Yin, who has worked at the NUS Chinese Library for more than 40 years, appreciated the intent behind the event.

“The students think about our contribution. I thank them for their acknowledgement,” she said.

NUSSU President Lim Kok Seng said: “This event is to kick-start the whole Thanks!NUS campaign. It sends the message that we have to care for the community, beginning with ourselves.”

Kok Seng along with two other NUSSU representatives, Loo Weng Heng and Kellie Chong, capped off the Picnic by serenading guests with Cantopop and evergreen favourites including ’70s hit, Top of the World.

Campus staff clapping along to Kellie’s rendition of Top of the World