It's Recuitment Time!!!



They came, they saw, they signed up. Not for credit cards or cars but an opportunity to make a difference to a less than material cyber world. The dangers are however, present and lurking. With perverts and viruses terrorizing the net, it takes the right online community to keep the kids safe. Thankfully, we had eighty-four who stepped out in faith. After rigorous rounds of interviewing, seventy one SMU students were selected to interact with teenagers of respective schools and share their experiences, discovering themselves in the process.

Teresa Antony Thoppil, a first year student, echoed these sentiments. Born in Karalla but bred in Indonesia, the BM undergrad subscribes to the whole idea. Ready with a listening ear, she looks forward to giving advice and knowing them better. “How?” bloodhound instincts probed, “Well sorta like, go with the flow, you know, go crazy with them?” Wait till she sees how crazy some of the kids can get.

But one major activist or livewire, we really have to say a big THANK YOU to is Eelin Chang. Our key pioneering volunteer, she’d first approached CRuSH in August last year to do a community oriented project that met CIP hour and convenience requirements.  Observing that SMU students are perpetually parked at their laptops, she concluded that the project could marry the needs of SMU students and that of CRuSH.

Indeed, true to her uncanny prediction, CRuSH “was an instant hit with the students with 168 sign-ups!” back then. “So,” came my momentous question, “were you the mascot?”  She shook her head modestly. Perhaps, Eelin can be more accurately described as our self-appointed ambassador whose zeal for this worthy cause is unmistakably contagious as the active girl pounces on an unsuspecting student, extolling in her bubbly manner, the merits of joining CRuSH. “That one your friend huh?” asked this bemused reporter, “No, lah! I don’t know him but he said he’d think about it.” Then added, “But wait a minute, that’s what he said the last time!” Undaunted, resilient Eelin bounced back to her feet, buzzing with excitement, giving out CRuSH pamphlets.

 

Still reeling from her spontaneous display of athletic flights, I finally blurted. What drives you? Apparently, partnering CRuSH with SMU was kind of her like “baby” and she really wants it to succeed. In her opinion, the CRuSH programme has “the competitive edge”, it’s wireless, no travelling time required and for the net savvy, i.e. those who chat on MSN when, er, idle. Having e-mentored, she vouched, “It’s fun, it’s cool!” We sincerely hope our new e-mentors think so too. 

See you guys on the Forum!