On 5 April, I attended CHIJ St. Joseph Convent's Council Investiture with Shao Xuan on behalf of Council.It was out very first time attending another school’s investiture; hence we were feeling excited and nervous at the same time. Both of us expected CHIJ St Joseph Convent to be an all-boy school. Well, we were pretty much wrong. It was a girls’ school and we were not prepared for that when we arrived at their campus. Anyway, it was a pleasant campus and I guess it did leave us with a good impression of their school.
We were ushered into their library to wait for their investiture to begin. Meanwhile, the student leaders from CHIJ SJC introduce everyone in the waiting room. It was a different tradition from Hwa Chong’s investiture. We had the chance to sit together and share more about our schools. We got to learn more about the Councils of different schools and I found out that Hwa Chong’s Council was really different. Councils from most schools are in charge in the student’s discipline which is not part of Hwa Chong Council’s responsibility. I found that this waiting time effective to pull schools closer to one another because the opportunity was created for us to communicate.
Their investiture was brief and full of applauses. It was less formal than Hwa Chong’s, but I really liked their lively mood. Personally, I felt that an investiture should be a joyous occasion, so we should try to be as lively as possible. The invited guests and councilors had a tea-break after the investiture. We were brought to another room with prepared buffet for us. We first congratulated the new batch of councilors who would be leading SJC. Following, we were free to grab some food and talk to the other councilors.
I noticed that they were really good hosts, a point which I thought Hwa Chong was lacking in. They would engage us and ensure that we were well treated. Normally, Hwa Chong Council Investiture would not have this friendliness from the councilors. Both Shao Xuan and I were impressed with their hospitality. They would serve us with food and constantly check on us to see if we were talking with the rest. Actually, I felt that the investiture was not the priority, but it was the way the guests were treated that would define the Council. They sang and dance, got high with together and everyone there had a lot of fun. We made many friends too like Adif, who could not stop dropping his plate, and Junming, who kept on eating. We really had a great time there.
This investiture which I attended in CHIJ St Joseph Convent was more of a chance to make friends than just an invitation to watch their councilors being invested. From them, I had learnt a lot about hospitality. We really have to be enthusiastic and friendly to our guests because only then can the distance between the host and the guests be pulled to the closest. It was an eye-opener for me and most important a fun and unforgettable afternoon.