3rd Monthsary at River Valley Irregulars

Today, I'm celebrating my three-month milestone with the incredible team at River Valley Irregulars. This journey has been nothing short of amazing, and I've had the privilege of acquiring a wealth of skills on the job.

As a recent graduate, I must admit I felt a mix of anxiety and excitement when I first embarked on this full-time venture, diving headfirst into an industry I knew relatively little about. Nevertheless, I'm grateful that I've landed a role in Product Marketing, an area I'm familiar with and passionate about.

Working in a startup has its unique challenges, primarily the limitation in manpower, but this constraint has been a blessing in disguise for me. I've always sought a career that would allow me to break free from the confines of a single skill set and leverage the array of abilities I possess, making me a versatile "jack of all trades."

One of my early tasks was to orchestrate the River Valley Irregulars Pre-Launch Event, which put my teamwork, coordination, and leadership abilities to the test. Drawing from my experience in planning the NTU ADM graduation show, I felt at home in the event planning arena. However, I soon realized that as the scale of this event expanded, there were areas where I needed additional support, but we lacked the resources to fill those gaps.

I've also had the chance to apply my design skills, and I find myself using Adobe Illustrator daily (who says I'm not a designer anymore?). With training in both communications and design, I've honed the skill of quickly identifying objectives and conveying key messages to our target audience through design thinking. This achievement has been a career goal of mine, to communicate effectively through design, and I'm thrilled to have reached it.

I took on the responsibility of creating a brand ambassadorship program for the company. As the product marketing specialist, I recognized the importance of having meaningful spokespeople for our brand and the necessity of forging partnerships with subject matter experts to benefit our younger audience. While the program deck is still a work in progress, I can't wait to pitch it to our potential brand ambassadors in the future!

One unexpected but exhilarating challenge I embraced was conducting various workshops for different schools on behalf of River Valley Irregulars. I never imagined myself standing in front of a class, sharing my own stories or moderating a speaker session for a group of young individuals, but now it's become second nature to me as I do it every day.

I owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to my remarkable team for their unwavering support and genuine concern for my well-being. Special thanks to my boss, Sheila, for her diligence in ensuring I don't burn out. Syah and Jing Wei, thank you for your patience in fielding my myriad questions about the platform. Alicia, your meticulous attention to detail has saved the day more times than I can count. Ash, your unwavering support in my personal development means the world to me. And to Ivy, Sarah, and Shivansh, thank you for being outstanding interns and allowing me to step into a supervisory role for the first time.

There is so much more work to be done, so much more to give back to our community. Through my work with River Valley Irregulars, I've discovered that I have a wealth of contributions to offer—as a mentor, educator, communicator, and, above all, as a fellow human being. What we're doing here is all about forging human connections and creating opportunities. Through this role, I've found fulfillment in my career and set personal goals I'm excited to pursue.

I eagerly await the day when River Valley Irregulars truly takes flight.