First Pegasus Ready To Fly

 First Pegasus Ready To Fly


From R to L: the first Pegasus Shannon Phoa, Ivy Wong from SMU Office of Advancement and me


I had the pleasure of meeting SMU third-year accountancy student Shannon Phoa, the first recipient of the SMU Pegasus Overseas Exchange Grant.

10 months ago, I organised a networking fundraising event during my birthday month at the Singapore Management University, bringing together friends and associates from all aspects of my life to reconnect and make new connections. In lieu of gifts, I asked that each person make a donation to SMU. 

With the generosity of more than 150 donors and the support from Chan Wai Leng and her team at Singapore Management University Office of Advancement, I was able to establish this perpetual fund. 

We exceeded our $50,000 target to raise $56,500, allowing the fund to disburse $3,013 each year. 

This would enable one financially challenged SMU student to go on a University overseas exchange programme, each year, every year, in perpetuity.

During my meeting with Shannon, we spoke about life, experiences at SMU, and aspirations. I found Shannon to be thoughtful, quietly determined, curious and open to learning and gaining new experiences. With the grant, she’ll be able to spend three months at a University in Seoul, which she selected because of a programme in business data analytics. 

I wished her a fruitful overseas exchange experience and reminded her to have fun and make as many friends - both local and international. Knowing the power of overseas exchanges in widening worldviews, I’m excited about what she will get to see, experience and learn.
I’m grateful for the many opportunities given to me to go overseas for military training and academic studies, all of which enriched my life and honed my life skills. 

Now, because I am part of a community of donors united with the same spirit of generosity and giving, and sharing the same belief in overseas educational experiences, I have the opportunity to enable one person’s dreams to take flight. 

Special thanks to Sam Wu for helping me shape the idea of the fund, Ivy Wong and Hosy Ho for doing much of the heavy lifting (from organising the networking event in January, to managing the donations, and  administering the grant)

To the SMU Pegasus Overseas Exchange Fund donors, thank you for being the wind beneath the wings! 


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If you would like to be part of this community, or start your own fund in support of SMU, please contact the SMU Giving team at giving@smu.edu.sg




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