NUS Campus Couples Bursary Fund raises about S$226,000 for needy students

National University of Singapore (NUS) alumni and friends have raised about S$226,000 for the NUS Campus Couples Bursary Fund that supports bursaries for financially-disadvantaged undergraduates. A NUS Campus Couples Valentine’s Dinner was organised today to mark the latest fundraising efforts, which started in September 2017, and to celebrate the love stories of alumni couples.

NUS President Professor Tan Eng Chye (fourth from left); receiving a cheque of S$225,960 from Mr Yeo Keng Joon, Chairman of the Valentine’s Dinner Organising Committee (third from left) for the NUS Campus Couples Bursary Fund.
Accompanying them on stage are Ms Sarah Ong, Chairperson of the NUS Campus Couples Alumni Group (first from left); Mr Johnny Tan, Chairman of the Alumni Student Advancement Committee at NUS (second from left); Mr Kevin Ong, Director of NUS Development Office (second from right); and Mr Bernard Toh, Director of NUS Alumni Relations (first from right). 

Since the Bursary Fund’s inception in 2015, more than S$750,000 has been raised and 34 needy NUS students have benefitted. 

The NUS Campus Couples Bursary Fund was initiated by Mr Yeo Keng Joon, who met his wife Madam Kong Yuet Peng as a university student. The couple had obtained their MBA degrees from the NUS Business School. They had received financial help with their education and had felt that setting up a bursary fund was a tangible way of giving back to the NUS community. 

NUS President Professor Tan Eng Chye said, “I am heartened by the unwavering dedication of our alumni in supporting financially needy students, and giving them the opportunity to experience a life-changing university education at NUS. Initiatives such as the NUS Campus Couples Bursary Fund help to boost the University’s ongoing efforts at enabling more of our talented and deserving students to reach their fullest potential. We are grateful to our alumni and friends for their generous contributions. I hope that their efforts will inspire more alumni to give back to their alma mater.” Prof Tan, an alumnus who met his wife during his undergraduate days at NUS, is one of the pioneer donors to the Bursary Fund. 

Inspired by this initiative, one alumni couple, Mr Eugene Wong and Ms Emily Chin, decided to donate to the Bursary Fund because they believe in making tertiary education accessible to talented young people regardless of their financial situation. 

“Emily and I met when we were doing our undergraduate studies at the NUS Business School. We fell in love and eventually got married. We are now blessed with two lovely boys, David and John. The time spent doing our Honours year was very meaningful though studies were very tough. We share the same goals in our lives from our days in NUS. We are thankful for the opportunity we had to meet each other in NUS, fall in love and build a marriage and family together. We decided to give to this Bursary Fund as we believe that it is a blessing to give and inspire other NUS couples to give back to NUS and society,” said Mr Wong and Ms Chin. 

More than 100 NUS alumni couples attended the Valentine’s dinner to celebrate their love and reminisce about their formative years in NUS. The event also gave members of the NUS Campus Couples Alumni Group – a social platform that connects alumni couples – a chance to engage and reconnect with the NUS community.