NewCampus helps you fit learning into your life through daily discussion-led classes, hosted by virtual instructors, delivered in inspiring offline classrooms. Our team is global and remote first. We’re part nerdy, part creative but we all share a passion for changing the way people learn and grow. Keep life in beta.
This week we meet the woman behind the curtain, the heartbeat of the NewCampus blog — Sandhya, our head of comms and PR. With an intrepid spirit and an indefatigable enthusiasm for storytelling, creativity and global perspectives, it’s easy to enter a lively conversation with her that often ends up in surprising places. When not writing and editing NewCampus content and comms, you can find Sandhya blazing through a never-ending pile of films and books, making wish lists of beautiful stationery, and regularly falling into true crime rabbit holes.
Tell us a little about yourself
I consider myself a curious storyteller on the quest of making sense of the world through words, images and film. A tech enthusiast, I crusade for borderless worlds and wish everybody could just get along with each other peacefully.
What do you do at NewCampus?
As the Head of PR & Comms, I craft the narratives that surround NewCampus, whether it is sharing what we do through a blog post, creating thought-leadership on lifelong learning or garnering press mentions in publications.
What does your typical day at work look like?
I work remotely, so I begin the day checking Slack to see if there are any urgent requirements or updates to be sent. On Mondays and Fridays, I am usually mapping out what the week ahead looks like for the blog. The rest of the week is spent on research (this helps me identify our stand on a particular topic), writing about it engagingly, editing and publishing.
Every week, I also work on refining class descriptions and ensuring that the content we share with the world aligns with our brand guidelines.
The other aspect of my work involves driving more publicity to the brand. So, I connect with the press regularly and share interesting new angles to position the brand.
What is your current focus at work?
Presently, my top priority is to publicise the upcoming FastFwd Festival by NewCampus. We have had a good buzz so far, but are trying to reach out to more publications for event listings, interviews and more.
Three words that describe you?
Empathetic, resilient and dreamy
Why did you join NewCampus? What excites you about what you do?
The co-founders always say that NewCampus was born out of an itch we wanted to scratch and this is true for each and every one of us working here. As a person who loves learning and discovering new things, the concept of NewCampus aligns with my core. This was and continues to be the biggest draw for me.
I really love and value the faith and responsibility entrusted to me in shaping the voice of NewCampus. Being a startup spread across Singapore and around the world, we need to be smart, efficient and scrappy to function as a unit. This has made me more adept at multitasking, and proficient at communicating and working across teams and geographies. Additionally, I have learnt so many invaluable insights on the job – understanding about emerging tech while writing a blog, getting to know the global change makers who are our class hosts at NC, organising learning conferences, rebranding and launching in a new market, building publicity in a completely new market and the list goes on and on!
How do you incorporate lifelong learning into your schedule?
As a bookworm, I have my nose between pages or inches away from my Kindle on an average day. Not stopping there, I usually try to enrol for a MOOC or a course every year to help me improve my writing and expand my perceptions. Right now, I am pursuing ‘How to read a novel’ from the University of Edinburgh on Future Learn.
What/who inspires you?
The writer I admire the most is Michael Ondaatje. I am fascinated by his evocative and viscous prose and poetry.
That apart, I am extremely inspired by the stories of people who overcome their given set of circumstances to create a life of their choice. It’s absolutely amazing to see how people do not stop dreaming, no matter what things look like at the moment. Be it, J.K. Rowling who beat the odds to emerge as one of the most celebrated writers or any average Joe/Josephine who dreams to go beyond what situations dictate, I am in awe of that spirit and courage.
Share a book/podcast/article that inspired you and tell us why it impacted you
I am a regular consumer of books, articles, tv shows and films. It’s really difficult to pick one. So, here are a few:
TV: When in need of writing inspiration, I keep going back to The Sopranos, a TV series about the life, times and struggles of a fictitious mob boss, Tony Soprano played by the inimitable James Gandolfini. If ever there was a story well-told, this is it!
Book: ‘Tiny Beautiful Things’ by Cheryl Strayed. Pick this book, open any random page and begin reading. Wisdom oozes out of every phrase. I keep reading and re-reading this book to reassert my faith in humanity and life.
Film: The 'Before series' by Richard Linklater. It’s a fantastic essay on human frailty, faith and love.
What do you do outside of work for fun?
I love to travel and explore new cultures. There's no better way to understand and connect with people.
As a film school grad, I am obsessed with moving images and watch a movie/few episodes of a TV show a day with my husband. From when I was a child, I have been a bookworm and read a lot. These days, I have been working on reading writers from unexplored genres and regions of the world.
Oh! And I love making (and eating!) pizzas.
What’s the best piece of advice you can give to anyone?
Find your true north and keep chasing it, even if its coordinates keep slightly shifting over the years. Never let anything or anyone restrict you from evolving into who you want to be or what you want out of life. And through it all, always be empathetic and kind to one another.
Your favourite quote/motto
“He ne’er is crowned with immortality who fears to follow where airy voices lead” - Keats
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Connect with Sandhya on LinkedIn here or check out her work on her website
If you are excited about joining the NewCampus team, check out our open roles here or come say hi at hey@newcampus.co ✨
