Perfecting her passion for communications and design

At Republic Polytechnic, Ms Nurul Ain Nuwairah Abdul Razak explored her interest in communications and design, took part in competitions, contributed to the community and discovered her strengths.

While studying for her O-Levels at Madrasah Al-Maarif Al-Islamiah, Ms Nurul Ain Nuwairah Abdul Razak was certain that she did not want to go on to junior college or take a pre-university course.

“I wanted to discover what I’m interested in,” said the 19-year-old.

Ms Nuwairah has been interested in reading and writing since she was young. Her debating experience in secondary school sparked her interest in news and general knowledge. With this in mind, she readily accepted the provisional offer by Republic Polytechnic (RP) for the Diploma in Mass Communication via the Early Admissions Exercise.

DISCOVERING AND DEVELOPING NEW STRENGTHS

Going to RP proved to be the right choice for Ms Nuwairah. She blossomed academically, taking home a slew of educational awards and prizes.

Within a year, she received the Edusave Merit Bursary, the Edusave Academic Achievement award and the Lee Foundation Scholarship. She also won a Module Prize for Digital Media Communication in 2019, and as part of the top 10 per cent of her cohort, she was inducted into the RP Director’s Roll of Honour for three out of four semesters.

She has also become a leader. Ms Nuwairah is the student ambassador for her course, organising and taking part in events like RP’s Open House, freshmen orientation programmes and school camps.

Most importantly, she has gained experience in the media and public relations industries. Besides being part of RP’s student-run communications agency RePResent, Ms Nuwairah was the community editor for the school newspaper, The Republican Post.

“Journalism has given me the opportunity to explore my strengths beyond my bubble and connect with different individuals,” she said. “I was also the senior design consultant for The Republican Post, where I helped design print layouts and trained newcomers.”

She added: “Design is something I picked up over the years at RP. It’s a way for me to express my creativity. Sometimes you want to do something different just to clear your mind, and that’s what design is to me.”

Ms Nuwairah has since turned her design sensibilities to a good cause. She once taught children photography and storytelling skills as a volunteer at Beyond Services. In addition, she designed a poster for RP’s Make a Difference showcase and served as a publicity volunteer for Rahmatullah Pillars Muslim Students (RPMS), a student-run Muslim social service organisation that raises funds and provides support for charities in Singapore.

GROWING THROUGH NEW CHALLENGES

Being in RP has given Ms Nuwairah the opportunity to participate in many competitions and challenges to build up her portfolio. She also completed a five-month-long internship at JTC.

She said: “I have participated in projects with partners such as Mediacorp, and in many industry competitions such as the SICC-JCU Circular Economy + Sustainability Competition, NUS Pitch It! and SUSS Brand Challenge.”

The Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS) Brand Challenge 2019 was especially memorable for Ms Nuwairah. Her team was assigned to work with Cooltopia, a traditional Chinese ‘cooling water’ remedy in the form of a bottled drink.

“It was my first time taking on a public relations and marketing-related activity,” she recounted. “I learnt that communication is key – not just within the team, but when pitching ideas too. Sometimes the brief you are given to work with is limiting, but there is always a way to make it appealing to the target audience.”

Ms Nuwairah and her team researched trends and gathered survey insights before settling on their chosen marketing strategies for the target audience of young people.

“One of the strategies we developed was a nostalgia-themed fair, where students can donate their old clothes, toys or books for bottles of Cooltopia,” she said, explaining that the idea had been sparked by the trend of vintage and thrift shopping among her age group. 

Looking back, Ms Nuwairah feels that RP offers a good balance between strong academic support and the freedom necessary for students to develop into creative professionals.

“Taking on projects like Cooltopia forces you to be independent, as the responsibility is much heavier on your part,” she said. “But facilitators are always there to provide guidance.”

Ms Nuwairah will graduate with a Diploma in Mass Communications with Merit this year, and will also be awarded a Module Prize in Photojournalism. She is looking forward to attending a local university and hopes to explore a media writing career.

She said: “Being in RP truly helped me to grow as a person in many ways, and I am able to achieve what I could never have dreamed of.”

Find out more about a rewarding education at Republic Polytechnic.

Join Republic Polytechnic’s Early Admissions Exercise webinar on May 28 to find out how you can secure a conditional offer for your dream course before your O-Levels.