Chelsea Cheo Email & Phone Number

Singapore

Singapore

Gerontology has always been an interest of mine. During this internship, I was presented the opportunity to be physically present at the centre to interact closely with many individuals. And at the same time, work alongside experienced colleagues and learn the ropes of caring for older adults. Though short, I gained so much. Most importantly, this internship gave me clarity in pursuing a career in eldercare. Prior to working with HoviCare, I had no practical experience of interacting with older adults with dementia. My learning curve was rather steep throughout as I live through fresh and new experiences almost every day. I was also taken aback on several occasions by the insights and lessons I can gain in just one day. More interestingly, I found myself looking forward to going to work the next day albeit exhausted from a day’s work. Apart from building rapport with the elderly through close listening, understanding, and conversing in dialects, I was given the opportunity to develop programs aimed at supporting and stimulating cognition abilities using tools like H5P and Moodle. This bidirectional opportunity of being able to be 'on the ground' and at the same time, be part of upstream measures of dementia care are my key takeaways these 3 months.

Singapore

Bamboo Builders is a social enterprise that honours personal growth through authentic experiences. My pro bono internship with them has allowed me to discover and optimise my strengths, weaknesses and values through connecting and interacting with others in a professional setting. For Operations, my responsibilities include planning and executing the Community Huddles which is held every quarterly, and I have been part of three Huddles. For each huddle, we invite 3-4 speakers to share their experience working with people living in poverty, both in Singapore and across South East Asia. Being able to interact and mingle with passionate individuals on social issues such as poverty broadens my perspectives on societal problems. And as for Business Development, I was tasked to reach out to local schools for potential partnerships. From researching to curating pitch decks to crafting emails and to finally, arranging a meeting with the respective teachers, are part of my workload. This learning opportunity has been beneficial to me in terms of confidence-building and enhancing my interpersonal skills