Welcoming Class of 2028 into our Pharmily!
As undergraduates celebrated the end of academic year with the summer holidays, the NUS Pharmaceutical Society Freshmen Orientation Programme (FOP) committees worked tirelessly to put together a series of exciting activities to welcome the Class of 2028 into our Pharmily! The FOPs consist of Pharmacy Rag (RxAG), Pharmacy Flag (RxFlag) and Pharmacy Orientation Programme (POP). Let’s take a look at this year’s activities!
First up, let’s take a look at RxAG. It started off with Jumpstart, held on 12th and 13th June, with a renewed aim to introduce both RxAG and RxFlag to freshmen. This involved a collaboration between RxAG and RxFlag to expose freshmen to the floats, costumes and dance elements of RxAG as well as RxFlag’s volunteer events. Freshmen got to construct their own handheld props, sew cute keychains and get a taste of this year’s dance choreography! Additionally, to expose freshmen to RxFlag’s volunteering events, participants were actively involved in creating marbled paint bookmarks with inspirational messages to distribute to the Life Community Services Society (LCSS) beneficiaries.
Jumpstart 2024 Highlights
Eighty-three freshmen have joined RxAG as part of the dance, floats and costumes teams to put up a spectacular performance on Rag Day, happening on 10th August. This year, the theme is “Back to our roots” and do I hear that a Toy kingdom might be involved? Do come down on Rag day (10th August) at U Town Green to support the team and appreciate their months of hard work.
Moving onto RxFlag, , students hosted their long term engagement sessions with LCSS during this summer break through their penpalship programme where participants exchanged letters with children at the childcare centres while they taught the basics of letter writing! Not to mention, they have also conducted their summer-based activities which were ad-hoc engagement sessions through activities like arts and crafts sessions, science lessons and educational games to engage the children holistically and increase their awareness of science and healthcare.
RxFlag ‘24 volunteers and committee members
Let’s also not forget about Flag Day which happened on 27th July where students hit the streets to raise money through good old tin can fundraising! The funds raised will go towards Community Chest to benefit Social Service Agencies (SSAs) such as LCSS in the long term, allowing them to defray operational costs and continue to provide good services and environments to their beneficiaries. If you are interested in making a difference, do consider contributing to our Donation Drive today at http://give.asia/nuspsragflag2024!
Finally, POP held a four-day Pharm Orientation Camp (POC) from 18th – 21st June . The camp’s name, Vinculum Immortalis, is in reference to the murder-mystery plotline that weaves through the camp through a fictional character, Victor Harrow who is the renowned Chief Pharmacist of the Panacean Peak Town, and his murder. Four different detective clans: Sky Investigators, Magnolia Operatives, Ravens Agents and Aurora Sleuths were pitted against each other in mass games such as Fortified Flag Frenzy, Sentinel Sphere Siege and Wishy Washy Who’s the Baddie. Throughout the camp, they had to work together to solve the murder of Victor Harrow and discover a horrifying truth about the mayor of the town! Overall, the camp was a success with the freshmen being immersed in the plot and growing closer to one another to develop the Pharmily spirit. Special mention must be given to Aurora Sleuths for being crowned the best clan of the camp! As we are nearing the start of freshmen’s university journey, POP also conducted the annual Rocket Fuel workshop on 1st July, a one-day academic programme to help freshmen bridge the gap in knowledge for both chemistry and biology.
POC Vinculum Immortalis 2024 Highlights
Don’t fret! There is still one camp left which is set to take place during Pharmacy Orientation Week on 5th – 7th August! This camp would introduce the 5 Houses of NUSPS (Fleming, Galen, Procter, Pasteur and Scheele) as a way to provide the support freshmen need to begin the academic year, while engaging them through interesting activities that we hope the freshmen will enjoy!
Above all, we must give immense thanks to the dedicated FOP teams who committed their time and sacrificed their summer break respite to bring the best programme to our freshmen. We are grateful to each and every one of the freshmen who participated in the activities too and hope that you will step up to do the same for future batches of freshmen one day.
To the class of 2028, through the series of FOPs, we hope we have managed to achieve our biggest goals – to give you resources to support the transition to university life and forge bonds that will carry on the next 4 years and more. Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Science may have its challenges, but I am confident that you will achieve great things as one Pharmily. FOP may be ending soon but do look out for more opportunities that NUSPS will bring to you to make your university life more enriching! Follow us on Instagram (@nuspharmacy) or Telegram channel (https://t.me/nusps) for the latest updates.
Good luck Class of 2028!
Article by Nandhini Renganathan (Year 1 Pharmacy student, 63rd NUSPS Vice President (Special Projects))
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