The Finale

I write this post while on my 20+ hour journey back home. To say that a lot has happened since my last blog post would be an understatement. As you may remember, I had put my blog on a hiatus since early April so as to devote more time studying for my final papers and exams. This proved to be a smart decision, as I am fairly confident I was able to perform relatively well in my classes. Still, I need to wait a couple more weeks to hear back on my grades.

In this final blog post, I would like to step back and focus on the main reason I created this blog: to reflect on my leadership development during my semester studying abroad at the National University of Singapore (NUS). Through my classes, continued extracurricular involvement, travels, and self-reflection, I have built my leadership capacities in ways that I simply could not have been able to had I stayed in Ann Arbor last semester.

Leadership Development

In my class "Managing Nonprofit Organizations", I developed a proposal to start a global nonprofit organization along with a team. Through this course, I was able to develop my presentation skills and my entrepreneurial skills. Moreover, by working with 3 Singaporeans and a German, I learned how to work in a culturally diverse team and leverage each person's different experiences and insights for the benefit of our project. At times, it was very difficult to work together since we all had different interests and wanted to serve different communities, but in the end we incorporated everyone's insights so that we each had a stake in the organization's success. For those that are interested, our nonprofit organization is an intermediary that would connect famous people on social media with nonprofit organizations so as to solve the two main problems we deem nonprofit organizations face: (1) a lack of publicity to generate awareness and promote their mission and (2) insufficient funds to achieve their mission. A friend from the group and I may actually go forward with the proposal and establish this nonprofit organization for real, but this is not yet definite.

Since April, I've travelled to Australia, Vietnam, Japan, and South Korea. Since leaving Michigan in January, I have been able to explore eight different countries in total (the other four countries are Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and the Philippines). To the extent that I had not fully realized prior to coming to Singapore, travel can be a deeply educational experience. My understandings of identity, nationality, race, democracy, authoritarianism, colonialism, governance, public policy, development, and life in general were all challenged and furthered. Moreover, through my travels, I have been able to develop my cultural competencies and leadership skills. I feel as though I have become more globally aware, interculturally competent, and can look at issues from varying perspectives. Also worth mentioning is the fact that most of my friend group consisted of non-Americans. This, I believe, helped me build my listening and communication skills, as well as allowed me to engage in dialogues across cultures.

Simply being away from my family and friends back home helped me grow more independent and mature. It is difficult to explain why this is, but I think it has to do with the fact that I was more "on my own" than I otherwise would have been in Ann Arbor. I would take public transportation by myself, study for classes more independently, and so forth. It is also important to note that I went to NUS without knowing any single person from Singapore or anyone who would be studying at NUS (aside from a brief orientation with the other Michigan students before leaving). Resultantly, I now feel like a more capable, confident person.

By the end of the semester, I truly felt like I had become a more effective leader. During an office hour discussion with my managing nonprofit organizations professor, she told me that I have an "embracive" style of leadership, meaning I am very inclusive and tend to facilitate the participation of others. This, in her view, is the best style of leadership to have. While I am everyday contemplating whether I would like to work in business, politics, nonprofits, government, or social enterprise, I learned that ultimately what drives me is a desire to lead and to have a positive social impact. My professor shared with me that she has worked and led in many capacities: business, government consulting, nonprofits, etc., and I feel as though I may follow a similarly erratic career trajectory.

Final Thoughts on Studying Abroad

I had confidence that it would be a good decision to study abroad, but I really did not expect it to be as positively transformative as it has been. I remember initially feeing hesitant about studying abroad during the school year because doing so would mean missing out on a semester in Ann Arbor. To look at it in this manner, however, overlooks everything one stands to gain through their study abroad program.

While I will say that I find the classes at the University of Michigan to be more engaging and enriching than at NUS, I've learned more in this semester than I ever could have had I stayed in Ann Arbor. If not through the classes, then certainly through my travels and by being in a wholly different environment. Overall, I could not be happier with my study abroad experience — from the academics, to experiencing other cultures, to the lifelong friends I have made — choosing to go on exchange at NUS was undoubtedly the best decision (and also the most compulsive decision) of my life thus far.

Thank You

I would like to take a moment to give thanks to all those who have helped to make my study abroad experience so memorable and enjoyable. First and foremost, I would like to again thank the Barger Leadership Institute for helping to support my leadership development by providing a generous scholarship to make studying abroad more financially viable. From BLI, I would especially like to thank Ms. Tiffany Purnell for offering special workshops and events where I have been able to build and apply my leadership skills. I look forward to being more involved in the work of the BLI this coming year. I would also like to thank the Center for Global and Intercultural Study for offering this exchange program with the National University of Singapore and for their constant receptiveness in addressing the concerns of my cohort. I would especially like to thank my study abroad program coordinator and advisor Patrick Morgan for going above and beyond the call of duty to make our study abroad experience truly special. Even after being promoted to another position mid-semester, Patrick would regularly ask how things were going and even introduced me to his friend in Japan via email.

Yota was a great host and friend for us in Kyoto, Japan

I would also like to thank all those who enjoyed and looked forward to reading my blog posts. It really makes me happy when I receive messages from people telling me how a certain post resonated with them. My friends abroad and back home alike have shared with me how much they enjoy certain posts. For example, a friend of mine on exchange told me that he also felt the pressure of FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) and that it wasn't until he read my post that he confronted it and decided to simply enjoy the moment. Another friend back home, who is Chinese-American, enjoyed my piece questioning what it means to be an Asian. Finally, the staff at the Center for Global and Intercultural Study let me know that the future cohort of NUS students from Michigan are following my blog and are enjoying reading it. I really did not expect my blog to have as much of a following as it has received, and for that I'm very thankful.
If you are reading this as someone who is considering studying abroad at the National University of Singapore -- whether you're a Michigan student or not -- I would be more than happy to discuss my experience further and give advice. I remember wishing I could have spoken with someone who had studied on exchange at NUS before I accepted the offer to go, but fortunately it all worked out in the end. The best way to contact me is through my email, which is mrhaidar@umich.edu.

Bonus Piece

What follows is a post I had meant to publish earlier but had simply forgot to. Feel free to read it if you want!

Two Worlds

Today marks my final day in Singapore. I begin this blog post while in the cab heading to the airport. I feel both happy and sad at this moment. Happy because I am excited to return to my "normal" life, but sad because that means I'll have to let go of this new one I've established.

You see, when one chooses to study abroad, it is easy to think about how you will miss your family, community, friends, and so forth before you leave, but what's often overlooked is the fact that the same thing will happen once you have to return. Don't get me mistaken, I miss my life back in the states more than I expect I will miss my life back in Singapore, but I will still miss it nonetheless.

I have essentially established another life halfway across the world. I have made many close friends, taken on new dietary habits, learned how to get around around a once foreign city, adapted to a new university and culture, even learned a new form of slang called Singlish, and now I am sad by the thought that I'll have to leave all of that behind.

What was once unfamiliar to me has become commonplace (e.g. being the only non-Asian in a room, navigating through the bureaucracy of NUS, getting around town by MRT), and I feel comfortable in this new world. I almost feel as though I might experience a sort of "reverse culture shock" upon returning back home, and what was once second nature will -- for a brief moment -- be unfamiliar.

In any case, this will surely not be my last time in Singapore or SE Asia. I will surely keep in touch with the friends I have made while at NUS -- whether Singaporean or non-Singaporean -- and I'm sure our paths will intertwine in the future. I've made friends with people from all around the world, and we have promised ourselves to host one another in our respective countries and to even travel together in the future.

Through this experience, I can empathize with international students at the University of Michigan. They similarly lead "double lives" where they have to navigate between two distinct worlds and personal identities.