Expat Living Singapore – July 2019

LIFE & FAMILY

72 JULY 2019

Olivia Weston (11), Belgian English

School: Lycée Français

Ambassador: Barbara Pinkert, European Union

Why did you want to be Ambassador for a Day?

I was excited to have the chance to understand what

diplomats really do. My grandfather was a British

diplomat, and my father often talks about his life as

the child of a diplomat, living all over the world. I also

thought it would be interesting to understand what it’s

like as a woman to work in this type of career.

How did you and the ambassador spend your

time together?

We started the day with a management meeting and I got

to sit in on the discussion. Next, we headed to a media

conference at the National Gallery, followed by lunch.

There were more meetings in the afternoon, including

one with the European Chamber of Commerce, and

to round off a busy day there was a cocktail party at

the Danish Ambassador’s residence. It’s not far from

where I live, which was great since I was more than

ready for bed!

What did you expect from the day? What was

the biggest surprise?

I thought there might be a lot of boring time spent in

an office; in fact, diplomats seem to spend most of their

time in face-to-face meetings and discussing things

over a meal or drink. The days are long, however, and

I think it must be tough to combine such a job with

being a mother.

My biggest surprise was how nice everyone was to

me! They all took time to say hello to me and ask me

about my life in Singapore.

Do you think this experience might affect what

you choose to do for a career?

This was a really great experience for me – I’m so pleased

that my mother encouraged me to apply. It has been fun

to talk with my father

about it, too (I think

he sometimes wishes

he had followed in his

father’s footsteps!). As

for me, I don’t think

I want to become a

diplomat, but I would

like a job where I’m

not stuck in front of a

computer all day!

Tanishka Trivedi (16), Indian

School: Overseas Family School

Ambassador: Jo Tyndall, New Zealand

Why did you

want to be

Ambassador for

a Day?

As the leader of

the UN Women

Club in my school,

I wanted to learn

about the roles and

responsibilities that

come along with

leadership outside

the school world.

How did you and

the ambassador spend your time together?

First, I sat down with Ms Tyndall and she congratulated

me on my achievement and spoke about her job, her life

and how much she loves doing what she does. Ms Tyndall’s

first meeting of the day was with a representative of Air

New Zealand. After that, we met students from Puhoro

STEM Academy. Later, I met Ambassador Mausoom from

the Maldives and his team. They were lovely people and

Ambassador Mausoom had a delightful sense of humour.

The food served at lunch was delicious, too – the fruit crème

brûléewas my favourite!

What did you expect from the day? What was the

biggest surprise?

I deliberately tried to arrive with no preconceived expectations

as I wanted to enjoy and learn from everything that was so

generously offered to me. I was astonished by how much Ms

Tyndall knew about climate change.

Do you think this experience might affect what you

choose to do for a career?

It seemed obvious to me that Ms Tyndall believes in the

kind of leadership that embodies the saying “We rise by

lifting others”.My day with her showed to me that it isn’t

all glamorous. There might be fancy lunches, meetings

with very esteemed people and high recognition, however,

one has to have critical insights into political situations and

be able to deal with social issues thoughtfully. I noticed

that even when disagreeing or simply having different

views, both the parties were extremely respectful. This

experience has encouraged me to work harder in the

right direction!