Meet Wei Jun - Student Community Manager at The Greenhouse
Wednesday May 29,2024 | IIE News
As a final year Business Management student majoring in Finance, Wei Jun is contributing back to SMU by serving as a Student Community Manager. Outside of school, Wei Jun invests his time in his interests across mahjong, table tennis and soccer. As he strives to kickstart his career in the Finance industry, Wei Jun reflects on how his time and experience with the Greenhouse contributes to his professional journey.
🚀 Check out impactful events happening at The Greenhouse!
Q: Can you describe your role and responsibilities as a Greenhouse Committee Manager?
Wei Jun (WJ): As the pioneer batch of SCM, we had the opportunity to introduce the Greenhouse to the student body and entrepreneurs. Our daily tasks revolved around brainstorming event ideas to engage the SMU community and external stakeholders, managing event requests and ensuring our startup founders community under our incubation programme – Business Innovations Generator (BIG) has a conducive work environment.
Q: What motivated you to join the Greenhouse Committee, and what do you hope to achieve through your involvement?
WJ: I was always interested in the entrepreneurship scene but had not taken any actionable steps prior. What piqued my interest was the opportunity to connect with professionals across various industries, notably in Finance – which aligned with my major. Recognizing the potential to make a difference to the SMU community as well as learn from professionals, I knew I had to take up the opportunity.
Q: Can you share a specific project or initiative that you spearheaded or contributed to as a member of the Greenhouse Committee?
WJ: In my role overseeing the “Venture Capitalist” (VC) Pillar, I would regularly connect with members in the VC space to introduce them to the Greenhouse community and discuss collaboration opportunities. This helped to ensure a pipeline of qualified mentors for our in-house incubation program Business Innovation Generator (BIG) as well as the annual Lee Kuan Yew Global Business Plan Challenge (LKYGBPC). Additionally, it has opened doors to internship opportunities for our students.
Q: What advice would you give to other students who are interested in applying for this role?
WJ: If you're feeling uncertain about your knowledge or abilities, remember that I joined the SCM without any prior knowledge or experience. Keeping an open mind allowed me to learn a great deal, and there will be ample opportunities for you to do the same!
Q: How do you juggle the time between your studies and managing various projects at the Greenhouse?
WJ: Being consistent in my schoolwork was instrumental in helping me strike a balance between academics and SCM commitments. Furthermore, my working hours at the Greenhouse can be flexibly arranged and adjusted upon, ensuring I could manage both my academic and SCM commitments.
Q: How did your experience influence you in your future career or internships?
WJ: During my time as a SCM, I had the opportunity to attend multiples networking events. These experiences really helped me come out of my shell and improve my communication and networking skills.
If you manage to impress the professionals you meet, there’s a good chance you could score yourself an internship offer at one of the Greenhouse’s events! More importantly, it has allowed me to gain confidence and feel more at ease during interviews, which in turn has allowed me to secure internships.
Q: Tell me about a challenge or obstacle you encountered while working on a project at The Greenhouse. How did you overcome it, and what did you learn from the experience?
WJ: As the first batch of SCMs, there was not a lot of structure in place, which resulted in us having to figure things out by ourselves through multiple trials and error. This experience has taught me to embrace uncertainty, which in my opinion, is a very relevant skill in the workplace especially in today’s rapidly changing world.
Connect with Wei Jun on his LinkedIn HERE!
