SP Tourism & Resort Management | Why it is a good choice? What to expect?

DTRM Cruise Trip September 2013, photo taken from my classmate's Facebook account



My life as a DTRM student in Singapore Poly Business School

Upon writing this blog post, I find myself subconsciously thinking back on the day I submitted my JAE application. I was pretty sure that I would have no regrets after a long & hard debate between SP's Diploma in Tourism & Resort Management (DTRM) and Diploma in Business Administration (DBA) as my first choice. To console myself further that I made the right choice, I went down to SP's course counselling on the last day of JAE submission - after i've submitted my application with SP DTRM as my first option. Thankfully, I felt even more excited with my selected choice after listening to the lecturer's elaboration and prayed hard I would get it instead of my second option - SP DBA.
And so... I would say that I was on the lucky side to have been placed into the first choice of my desired course. 

DTRM is a course under Singapore Polytechnic's Business School. In my opinion it's a course that is really broad in the things you will learn regarding the tourism & service industry. What I mean is that, instead of learning a certain specialisation e.g. hotel management or integrated events (which are both courses under SP ABE school), you get to learn more about the different aspects in the tourism industry. The different aspects generally include hotel, food & beverage, airline, cruise, events and many more!





So what can you expect as a DTRM student in SP?

While my memories of the past 3 years are still fresh as recently student-turned-alumni of DTRM, I hope that this post will help students whose interests are leaning towards the tourism studies in SP after secondary school.  





In Year 1:

• You will be taking up modules that are business-related (this is standardised for all business students in SP)
• Cruise trip with your coursemates
• DTRM Retreat (Bonding Day for Year 1s)

Don't expect to be taught tourism knowledge right in your first year. It is just as fundamental for tourism students to have general business knowledge as a business school student. We all know that the tourism industry is a very important sector for most countries' economical development and is also a major contribution to the economy. Therefore it is also significant to have general business knowledge. If you're someone who has the least interest in business topics just like me, I feel you. It's gonna be a long year of boring business studies... But it'll all pass before you know it! 

To lighten up your mood, every September, DTRM year 1 students will embark on a cruise learning journey where you'll get to have fun and gain valuable knowledge on cruise operations. (What a good opportunity to bond with your coursemates right in your first year in DTRM!) Back in 2013, my cohort of students were required to make payment since the trip was not fully subsidised. However, from what I've heard, the cruise trips are now fully subsidised for DTRM students. Not sure if it was only for my juniors' cohort or it's permanently fixed... But still! You lucky kids.

Lastly, there will be a retreat day for DTRM year 1 freshmen students every year. I doubt that this culture will ever change. Again, you will get to bond with your coursemates, seniors as well as lecturers. You'll also make new friends, so treasure this opportunity!

In Year 2:

• 70% of your modules are tourism-related
• Experiential Learning Trip to Johor @ Le Grandeur Palm Resort
• Opportunity to be the facilitators or game facilitators for DTRM Retreat

Year 2 becomes slightly more exciting since it is the actual start of learning things related to your course. During your 2nd year as a DTRM student, you will have to be prepared to devote more time to your project work & presentations. But don't worry! The project works for the tourism-related modules are especially fun and encourages you to be more creative in your reports & presentations. 

Again, DTRM students are really lucky because we get to go on trips almost every year to enhance our learning. There will be a DTRM JELT Trip to Johor's Le Grandeur Palm Resort in Year 2. This trip is about a week long, and usually held in May. Trust me, it's a trip that you'll never forget. By then, you will be doing all sorts of fun things with your coursemates. In this trip, you'll get to learn more on resort operations as well as experience hands-on activities e.g. dining in a fine-dining setting, making of your hotel bed. But! Becareful not to be overly playful... You'll have to be really attentive or you'll miss out. The things you do during this trip are especially important for your grades, you'll know why in time to come ;-)

In addition, as a senior in year 2, you will find an opportunity to become the facilitator for DTRM Retreat. It is a good chance to for you to know your juniors better! Don't forget to make them feel welcomed as a member of the DTRM family when the time comes!!

DTRM JELT TRIP 2014, Classes 01, 05, 07

Fine-dining activity DTRM JELT Trip 2014

Hotel room bed-making DTRM JELT Trip 2014

DTRM Retreat for Year 1s in 2014; Taken as a facil

In Year 3:

• 90% of your modules are tourism-related
• spending a semester at internship
• Loads of time invested in doing projects  

In your final year, majority of your modules will be tourism-related and are heavily dependable on projects. The modules will require a lot of time and effort in your projects, and you will expect consecutive presentations for a couple of weeks towards the end of the semester. However, in my opinion these were the best projects I've ever done. I had so much fun doing the projects! In addition, you will definitely learn a lot in the process. It may possibly be the most tiring semester, yet the most enjoyable one in terms of academics.

For tourism students in SP, our internship lasts at least 24-weeks. It is a huge advantage for us since we get to go out into the real word and meet different people from this industry. For us, first-hand experience & exposure is most significant, especially when it comes to dealing with customers. Having a 5 to 6-months long internship benefits us in gaining real & practical knowledge which we can't get in class, and it is a good duration for an internship since we will be adapted to the environment. (Good to have a break from school too!)

To visit SP's website on what you'll study in this 3-year course, click here.
(Wow future DTRM students are so lucky, new modules are added which weren't offered to my seniors' and my own cohorts!)




Other wonderful things to expect 

• Joining the course chapters known as DTRM Chapters
• Being a part of a closely-knitted course
• Helpful, fun and extremely caring lecturers
• A chance to go for a 1-year long internship programme
• Overseas internships
• Regular out-of-classroom learning trips
• Regular guest talks
• Generally fun tourism modules & project works compared to other business courses

In business school, every course has our own chapters community. In year 1, you will get the chance to sign up to be a part of our course chapters, DTRM chapters. As for myself, I did not do so since I prefer to be a part of the business school in general rather than being course-oriented, so I was a part of SBA (School of Business Ambassadors). In my opinion, DTRM is by far one of the most enthusiastic and closely-knitted course in business school. (It's as though it's a tradition that most DTRM students are full of enthusiasm). This is definitely not a biased opinion. Over the three years, be it my seniors' cohort, juniors' cohort or even my own cohort of coursemates, I've noticed the bond & enthusiasm between all of us. This opinion is obviously supported by the fact that DTRM has many various bonding activities throughout our 3 years. The population for each cohort is just nice too! Hence, joining the chapters is a great thing to do so for those of you who may want to contribute more to the course.

Another significant observation as a DTRM alumni now, is that our course has few but very caring lecturers. In school, our lecturers play a big part in our learning journey. I am proud to say that DTRM has very helpful and fun lecturers who genuinely care for their students. They are also lecturers whom you can feel comfortable with and have great little talks too! Their lessons are always fun to attend and definitely, presentations were fun to do as we look forward to seeing their reactions most of the times. Oh ya, they are also the kinds who would never forget to take a group picture at different events or other school activities. As long as DTRM is there, we'll never fail to take a DTRM photo! 

Internship-wise, several new things were introduced to my juniors' cohort. Currently, about 11 of the students are on a 1-year internship programme. I believe this is something that will go on for the subsequent batches of DTRM students, though I am not exactly too sure about it. With that said, it means gaining more exposure in the real world than in school! DTRM also offers overseas internship; There are disney internships (which unfortunately wasn't offered to my batch), but I trust that this offer is valid again for the upcoming batches of students. On the other hand, a few of my coursemates had their internship at Mauritius.

Generally, DTRM students get to have local internships at companies such as JetStar, Experia Events, Changi Airport Group, Wildlife Reserves ZOO/JBP, USS, Chan Brothers, and hotels such as Novotel, MBS Hotel and many more. There's a wide variety of local internship opportunities in the various tourism industry offered by our course.

DTRM also offers opportunities for regular learning trips & visits to hotels, exhibitions and etc. These make learning fun and enhance your out-of-classroom learning experience! Our lecturers also often invite guests from well-known corporations in the tourism industry to give us talks, and these talks are usually advantageous to our in-depth learning of the industry.

In addition, compared to other business courses, DTRM has the most interesting and really practical projects. Just to keep your interests in check, our modules' projects usually require us to "build" a new restaurant/hotel or organise an event in relation to the modules. What I am trying to emphasise on is that you get to experience many real-world related learning and conduct necessary research. Like i've mentioned, the projects encourage creativity too. This means that our presentations are usually full of creativity, and we have the opportunity to dress up according to themes and conduct various role-plays. (Pretty much different from the typical business presentation and black/white formal attires) Other fun-filled project works involve experiencing customer service first-hand for our projects, e.g. visiting a restaurant, a hotel, etc. Definitely, DTRM projects are not typically boring but uniquely exciting!




Overall

As a DTRM student you'll have to understand that most of our modules are project-based and will require you to have loads of teamwork. In addition, time management is important since there will be several deadlines within the same period of time (especially in year 3). Presentations are also another significant part of your projects, but you'll gain loads of fun and valuable learning experience after 3 full years of project works. However, knowing that there will be many projects and presentations shouldn't be a reason to turn off your interest for DTRM. In poly, it's all about group work, projects and presentations along with your own independence and integrity to do your work. Nothing comes easy, and no course should be deemed easier than the other. I believe that all courses require the same amount of time and effort and that what matters most is your attitude towards learning. But still, on top of all the other opportunities for learning outside of class, DTRM is generally a fun-filled course!

Lastly, why is SP DTRM a good choice? 

Here are the summarised points.

• Many opportunities to learn - in and out of class, locally/overseas
• Fun projects & modules
• Valuable internship experience
• Valuable knowledge on the tourism industry in various aspects
• Opportunity to forge wonderful friendships with your classmates and coursemates
• Opportunity to forge close relations with helpful, caring lecturers
• Gaining better qualities as a person and EQ that will benefit you when working with people, especially in the real world 
• Many great opportunities for a successful career in the tourism industry
• Having a sense of belonging to a closely-knitted course
• Opportunity to have fun & learn at the same time
• Opportunity to forge wonderful memories that are valuable for life!

BUT!

If you are a girl hoping to see many boys in your course (tsktsk you shouldn't even think of this!), kiss your hopes goodbye because the ratio of girls:boys in DTRM is probably 1:9 or sometimes 3:7. Most of the times, 70% to 90% of DTRM students are females. So if you are a male... it's paradise for you... Hahaha!

As a DTRM alumni I would say that my life as a DTRM student was pretty fun and enjoyable! I may not be really keen in business-related topics, but tourism was a special kind of business to me. Can't imagine how much I would have suffered if I chose Business Administration instead. 

Though I may possibly not pursue a career in this industry since my true passion is elsewhere, I do not regret spending my 3 years in SP as a student of this course. I may regret not chasing my passion right from the start, but I do not find it regretful to be a part of such a wonderful course and family. 

However, if you are truly passionate for the tourism & service industry, I would definitely recommend SP's DTRM. 

Thank you so much to my classmates, coursemates and DTRM lecturers who made me feel like i'm truly a part of the DTRM family & gave me such a memorable journey in Singapore Polytechnic!

I am proud to be part of the DTRM Family.

WE'VE GRADUATED!!

DTRM on Graduation Day, 09 May 2016

Back to blogging

Hello everyone, I am back!
I've been a failure in keeping to my words regarding updating my blog regularly since I was busy with school (but not anymore!) as well as my crafts business & YouTube channel.
If you're a regular reader you'd notice the huge difference in my blog appearance. After much hesitation, I decided to revamp my blog's layout by purchasing a template on Etsy. 
More specifcally, I purchased mine from Underline Designs, and the owner of the shop is so helpful, patient and friendly! Her name is Mina, and she is really extremely efficient in doing her work. Needless to say, she is really professional at it too! She offers free installation and tweeking of the template here and there according to your requests. Despite having so many doubts and clarifications from me, never once was she impatient and fulfilled all of my requests perfectly! Thumbs up for Mina!
If you are looking to purchase a blog template, do check out her designs because they are really unique and special, at the same time beautifies your blog to a whole new level!

But anyway, i've recently graduated from school and I'll soon do up various posts regarding my school life in poly for the past 3 years.

Stay tuned!

B.A.P Comeback 2015/2016; 25 Things I look forward to

*P.S: I do not own any of the photos, videos or GIFs here except for the screen shot below. All of the images, etc. were sourced from google and belongs to the rightful owners who own them.*

My experience with Braces | I could finally smile

I was one of those girls who lacked self-esteem and confidence...  Mine was due to my ugly teeth

But gone were those terrible days when I hated my crooked teeth after embracing braces

If you are one of those who are about to get braces (or planning to), you must be wondering how having braces feels like. 
So today, let me share with you guys on my experience with braces.

It's been almost a year since I had mine taken off, and the day when I genuinely felt good looking at my own smile was nonetheless, that very day when I finally had my braces taken off.

I had a very crooked set of teeth with a protruding bunny-like front tooth, and on top of that; according to my dentist - an overcrowding amount of teeth for the small mouth I have.

I was always very envious of others who had really nice teeth and they could smile confidently whenever they want. I was in fact, pretty mindful of how I looked with my crooked teeth when I was still in primary and secondary school. Because of this exact reason, I hated smiling with my teeth in photos, and I really disliked it when others watched me eat or tried to feed me some food. (I ended up eating very slowly too, for fear that my teeth was obvious to others' eyes. Therefore, I can never eat fast now.) I even hated it and got upset whenever I was shown a candid photo of myself smiling.

Yes, I was that mindful, I did not want anyone to notice my teeth at all - if possible. 

It was annoying when everyone asked when I was gonna get braces, it was even more irritating when you face difficulties chewing and biting down food like chicken wings. My crooked teeth gave me a lot of discomfort over the years, and I know - I've heard criticisms behind my back - how suckish it feels to have people comment on your "weakest point". 

You'll probably understand all these struggles if you have crooked teeth too. 

Some of these struggles are also found in one of my blog posts - click here to read.




Well well, all these struggles are finally over for me now!

I joined the waiting list at the Singapore's National Dental Centre (NDC) a few years ago and surprisingly, the wait was only approximately a year and a half short. I'd call it short - time flies by even before you know it. 
I was expecting at least 2 to 3 years, but nope.
I got my braces treatment started in January 2012, when I was just starting out life as a Secondary 4 student.  Mine was the traditional metal braces.




Is putting on braces painful?  

Dear girls and boys, braces are really not painful at all. It is normal for you to feel nervous on that day, but believe me, 
it doesn't hurt. 
(The only thing that hurt for me would be when the dentist cleaned my teeth and my weak gums ached... argh)
Okay, but this varies according to individuals. For mine, it definitely did not hurt when the braces was being put on. 


What does the dentist/orthodontist do on the day you put on your braces?





If I remembered it correctly, it takes about 20 - 30 minutes (this depends too).  He or she will most likely give your teeth a good clean before putting on your braces.

It'll feel weird to have your braces at first, but don't worry, you'll get used to it.  You may feel a little tightness at times and that's fine too.  (I ate normally on that day, but some people might find it difficult to.)

Don't expect your teeth to become straight over a night - braces are not instant miracles!

BUT! It is a sure thing that you'd see your teeth move into good alignment every month.  (Sometimes they'll look so straight that you'd actually think it's fine to take off your braces already!)

The next few days will be when the pain comes in.  Because your teeth are tightened with the braces and "moving" over the next few days, it might sting alittle at times - you'll probably not be able to bite down on any hard food either. (And hence the reason why people usually eat porridge for a few days at the start)


Such pains will be felt at least once a month after you have your braces tightened, but they are not excruciatingly painful (it is rare for that sort of experience). On certain days, you might have to endure the irritating discomfort from the wires poking inside your mouth - go to your dentist if it is too unbearable though!



All of these however, can never beat that excitement after you've gotten your braces anyway; The fun part - you get to play around with the colours every month!


The cons of braces?

Braces can be uncomfortable at times, and definitely troublesome. Why?

Don't be disheartened though. 

The pros are way more than the cons, and are for a lifetime. These cons will go away once you remove your braces. 

All you have to do is to get used to life with braces, and wait patiently for the day when your orthodontist will finally give the green light to have them removed!

I had my braces for around 2.5 years, and I would gladly say that I've never regretted having them. I miss how i looked with braces, but I love my teeth even more now!! I am finally able to smile and laugh confidently like never before! (Definitely happier now too!)
I CAN FINALLY BITE DOWN ON AN APPLE AND EAT CHICKEN WINGS WITH EASE TOO!!!

Does braces affect you in terms of appearance or speech?
Like I've said, your pronunciation may differ with clarity at times, and it is perfectly normal.  Some people don't have such encounters, so it depends. 
Appearance-wise, I personally find that people with braces look uniquely attractive (I had this mindset even before I had braces). There's just some sort of special feeling I get everytime I see them smile!

All in all, braces are really quite beneficial and in my opinion, it really helps in boosting your self-esteem and confidence too.

Find out what are the reasons why you should get braces and why they are worth your money




Here are some photos of me from the past till present:
I know I look so much thinner the past few years and gained alot of weight now, but hey I'm human and I do grow up too :( 

But... MY BODY SIZE IS NOT THE MAIN POINT HERE OKAY!!!!

These were when I was in secondary 3 - I started to tell myself to be less mindful and be confident. Hence I smiled with teeth sometimes. (It does not look as bad in photos at times)

This was when I just had my braces in sec 4  (doing you both justice here because we looked so awful here)

Approximately 2 months later in March 2012 (See the difference?! That's how fast your teeth might move)

2013 Chinese New Year - my teeth looked so much better by then!!!

September 2013

June to mid August 2014 

(You can see that my teeth are perfectly straight by this period of time - approx. 2.5 years ever since I put on my braces)



And that means....

Taken on the day I took my braces off!! 
Honestly I was a little sad because my gums did not look as nice as I expected them to be, and I felt like my teeth was still a little not up to "perfection". But after wearing the retainers and as months passed...

^

One of my biggest relief - no braces to hinder my pronunciation during my interview for internship!!!

^

I no longer hate candid shots anymore, because I think I look fine and really genuinely happy in the photos!




More recent photos...

I really think that my teeth looks so much better now as compared to when I first took off my braces!

The shape of my gums looks much "neater" too! (Probably thanks to the retainers)

I am so thankful for my dad who helped me get this beautiful set of teeth which I've always wanted.




But honestly, I feel that even if you have crooked teeth, don't ever give up on your confidence and self-esteem! 


Don't even think negatively of yourself, you are beautiful alright. 



As I grew older I came to realise that what others comment about you really shouldn't matter at all.


You are who you are, you are the one who shape yourself into who you want to be. 



Being confident is the best way one can ever truly love themselves, and everyone looks beautiful when they are confident.



Remember, don't let anyone pull you down!!! 

There will always be people who will love you for who you are and not what you look like.



Really, don't forget to put on a confident smile!

When you are confident, people will most likely shut up! (Lack of confidence makes you look weak!)



So are any of you actually one of those intending to get braces? Or are you guys currently wearing them? 


What are your thoughts on braces? 

Related posts: 6 Great reasons why you SHOULD get Braces and why braces are worth your money 13 Struggles only people with Crooked Teeth will understand

A new change

Hello, after spending about what-seemed-like a week, I am finally done with changing the whole layout of my blog! Hopefully it is more visually attractive with all the cute graphics and perhaps this space of mine can become a much better place of comfort during your leisure time. However there are glitches regarding the home page and "older posts/newer posts" links and search box, I can't seem to fix them oh well :( They dont display everything argh - you'll have to look out for the words 'older posts' and 'newer posts'.
I've also changed my blog link to braysel.blogspot.sg as it sounds more simple. I was thinking of getting my own domain but I did not have the time to do so, but it's alright! I'll probably get it soon after some time, I'll see how it goes.  Actually I had the temptation to buy a pre-made template instead, but I'll probably get it once I feel that my current one has too many glitches and are really too hard to navigate. Maybe by then I would change to my own domain as well.
If you were a regular audience of my blog you would probably have noticed that I've also deleted most of my older posts because I want a clean up here to make my blog look neater - except for a couple of posts which I can't remove since there were some reviews. But those posts are super lengthy though, I'm sorry. I'll try my best to summarise all my posts well and keep them interesting.
You can actually find out more about what I will be blogging about regularly from today onwards here.
Anyway, more posts will be coming up these few days as I've much to blog about!! (yay!) You can follow me on bloglovin or googleplus, or even by email (scroll down) for updates. 

Happy Saturday, enjoy your weekends, love.

Embrayce Crafts: Online Handicraft Store

Hello Everyone!


I've obviously failed to update my blog regularly and broke the promise again due to my tight schedule the past few months. However, I am really really free now!!! I hope that I will be able to update this space of mine again on a regular basis. Nevertheless, I am finally back!!

I felt so ashamed of my previous posts way back in 2013 - 2014, so I kind of deleted a couple or few. I'd love to delete all of them, but they have way too many photos inside to be bearable for any removal.


Anyway, I have finally taken a step ahead to fulfilling one of my little dreams in life! With encouragments from people around me, I took up the courage!!!

The name of my humble little online store is called Embrayce Crafts.

I have previously mentioned it before, but back then, it was still a 'show-case' account on Instagram. Now, it has officially become an online handicraft store!!!


Do give me your support everyone!!!

I'd appreciate it if you could kindly support me by liking my Facebook Page 'Embrayce Crafts SG' & follow @embrayce.crafts on instagram if you have yet to!

 Check out Embrayce Crafts' blog for more details @ embraycecrafts.blogspot.sg!

I have also recently visited a Cafe at Expo, called 'Fart Tartz'. I will be doing a blog post on this cafe within the next few days so stay tuned!

Have a great week ahead everyone!! 

(POOR MONDAY BLUES OH DEAR)