Dear Professor Brad,
My name is Nur Atiqah and with this introduction letter, I hope that you will get to
know me better. Before I was accepted into university, I went to Institute of
Technical Education graduating with a Higher Nitec certificate in Facility
Management and went on to take my diploma in Integrated Facility Management at
Temasek Polytechnic. Upon graduation, I worked at EM Services as a Property
Officer at Pasir Ris – Punggol Town Council.
My interest in engineering started when my father used to
watch a television series on Discovery channel called “How’s Its Made”. The
series would show the process, from beginning till end, of making our everyday
items, such as hairdryer, canned food, computers, etc. It had answered my
curiosity in the various process taken to build and create such items. This made
my mind think of how the building components were made and how it was installed.
While working at EM Services, I gained confidence to speak
to strangers and using the polite terms in addressing an issue. For example, I
would receive multiple feedback regarding a unit’s belonging obstructing the
passageway at the common corridor. I would visit the unit and advise them to
remove the said items, informing them about the safety aspects; fire safety and
accessibility. Most residents will understand and co-operate, but some will
question even more. During this time, I would find myself in a difficult
position as I am unable to find the proper terms or inform them in an
appropriate manner.
Aside from receiving feedback from calls, I would receive
them via emails. I am competent in verbalizing with residents, but I lack in effective writing
as I find it difficult to construct a decent reply. Before I sent out the
reply, my manager would vet the email and this may take time for him to think
through and paraphrase the reply. At times, I would have to reply 5 different
emails in a day.
My goals for this module are to improve in my writing and speaking
skills. My mind is able to process through the ideas and opinions but I find
myself unable to project it out. Even as I am writing this letter, I still find
it difficult to write down my reflection. I hope that with much practice and understanding
I am able to overcome this hurdle.
Regards,
Nur Atiqah Nadia
(updated on Thurs 24 Sep 2020)
I have read Dorathy's, Nadia's and Clement's introductory letter on 24 Sep 2020.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteHi Atiqah,
ReplyDeleteI'm glad that you found your passion since young. From your many work experiences, you must have picked up a lot of new skills.
I like how you elaborated on your work experiences throughout the letter. You mentioned your vast encounters with residents and how you sometimes get caught in difficult situations. I believe you will be able to handle similar situation in a better way now. However, I notice your habit of missing out on the article before your noun.
Aside from that, I love how you’re motivated in working towards improving your writing and speaking skills. I believe you will be able to overcome the hurdle you mentioned. See you in class!
Regards
Rue Hong
Dear Rue Hong,
DeleteThank you for your lovely response. Working at EM services was definitely challenging but it's a good stepping stone after graduation. I will read through the post and work on it.
Regards,
Nur Atiqah Nadia
Hi Atiqah,
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing about yourself. I love reading about how your interest in engineering started.
I like how the content you were sharing about your strength and weakness was filled with concrete evidence and explanation. Your points were well elaborated. It is clear, concise and complete.
I could notice few errors such as:
"I gained confidence to speak to strangers..." -> add a 'the' before 'confidence'.
“Before I sent out the reply....” -> ‘sent’ should be ‘send’ instead.
Overall, your letter was very engaging to read and I can tell that you’ve learnt a lot from your experience working at EM services.
Regards,
Dorathy
Dear Dorathy,
DeleteThank you for the lovely response. When I was younger, I was it was an interesting show how did they create the things we used everyday but I didn't realize how it was related to engineering till I was much older.
Thank you for pointing out on the errors, I will definitely look into it and work on them.
Regards,
Nur Atiqah Nadia
Hi Atiqah
ReplyDeleteI think that it is pretty amazing that you already have the work experience in this industry unlike some of us, including me. I believe that this would be to your advantage as the theory that we will be learning would make more sense to you since you were working beforehand.
Watching "How it's made" is something that we have in common, in fact I do agree that it really is interesting to get to perk someone's interest since it does show the whole process of how things work or get created.
A few pointers to take note of:
"I went to Institute of Technical Education graduating with a Higher Nitec.." --> "I graduated from the Institute of Technical Education with a Higher Nitec .."
"It had answered my curiosity.." --> "It answered my curiosity.."
"This made my mind think of how the building components were made and how it was installed." --> "This made me think of how the building components were made and installed" / "This worked my brain into thinking how the building components were made and installed"
" I gained confidence to speak to strangers and using the polite terms in addressing an issue." --> Polite terms seem like inappropriate word choice, maybe using "politely" would be better?
Your salutations are incomplete, greeting the reader but not signing off. (Missed out maybe?"
Overall, organisation was well thought of and your content was worth reading. In fact, it made me want to get to know you better and to grow together with you during this journey.
Regards
Nadia
Dear Nadia,
DeleteThank you for pointing out on the sentences that requires amendments. I will look into it and make the necessary changes.
Regards,
Atiqah
Dear Atiqah,
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for this clear and richly detailed letter. We certainly learn a lot about you in it, and I can see, for example, that what you write about is reflected in your present reality: you are intellectually curious in class and socially outgoing, a true testament to the environment provided in your childhood home and the interests facilitated through your work experience. It's clear too that the relevant work experience you have had as a property officer has served you well. I'd be interested to know, however, exactly what you did in your job position. By explaining your job scope earlier, you could ensure that the info in the subsequent paragraphs would make more sense.
In terms of your perceived weakness and related module goals, we will address writing as we are right now, from various perspectives. I look forward to reading more from you this term.
Best wishes,
Brad
Dear Professor Brad,
DeleteThank you for taking the time to read my letter. Though I am replying to you late into the module, I realized that the areas that I was weak on has definitely improved and gained the necessary skills for my time in SIT. Thank you for teaching us effective communication and see you around the campus.
Regards,
Atiqah