One of the various things we’re doing to help O level school leavers understand TP better is the TP Chat 2012.

From 5 – 13 Jan, you can log on to the TP Chat page and start chatting with graduated TP students. As alumni, they’re particularly well suited to answer questions regarding courses, admissions and student life in TP.

And to put things into perspective, over 30 (!!) chat operators will be manning their computers over those 9 days, together with many TP staff as well.

I sat down with 5 of the operators to ask, well, why did they come back?

“I loved TP, and wanted to help other students understand our school better.”

This sentiment was echoed by everyone. Meihui, Jing Yi, Leonard, Celeste and Jennifer might’ve come from different courses and graduated at different times, but their love for the school was their unifying factor.

In fact, this is Jennifer’s second time as a chat operator. She enjoyed the experience so much in 2011 that she jumped at the chance again this year.

“I loved the experience because I felt I was doing something that was really important and helpful to the O level students.” She added she really understood how a student freshly graduated with an O level cert felt – excitement and worry rolled into one – and was glad to act as a mentor to them.

They also recounted some of their most significant memories during their early days of visiting or studying at TP.

“The Orientation and the lecturers,” said Leonard. “The cheering of the Open House!” chimed Celeste. The group brought up many other things, ranging from friends to school life to their learning experience.

And it’s these experiences, and more, that our chatters will be bringing to the table when the TP Chat starts this Thursday. It’s free but most importantly, manned by people who’re genuinely interested in helping.

The 5 TP Chat operators also gave some advice on what you can think about before you chat with them, or before you come down to our Open House this week:

• What do you want to be in the future?
• What modules does this course offer? Do they interest you beyond the course name?
• What subjects or topics were you interested in back in school?