By SGN | 3 Mar 2020
If you had been to one of our recent events in the Bay area, you might have met Josie, a student at Nanyang Technological University (NTU)’s Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information. She is part of the Overseas Entrepreneurship Programme by NTU, where she is on a 1-year internship at Nona Lim in Oakland. Her responsibilities include email marketing, website maintenance, and online orders. Back home, Josie lives in Joo Chiat Place with her parents and siblings.
We speak to her to find out more!
Q1
What is your favourite place in the Bay Area?
Definitely Bay Street Emeryville which is a beautiful open street mall! It’s very different from the indoor malls in Singapore. Walking along the street, going from store to store and walking alongside the cars that are parked by the streets is definitely a different experience. It also has my favourite Trader Joe’s for great food, Target for essentials, and AMC, as I can’t live without movies.
Q2
What is your favourite food in the Bay Area?
I like SuperDuper burgers, and there are only a few outlets here in the Bay Area. The burgers are always so juicy, and their homemade pickles are mind-bogglingly delicious. I’ve never been the biggest fan of pickles, but this changed my mind. I guess I have learnt that you have to be open about things, and trying something new is enough to make you love more things in life!
Q3
What is the most exciting thing that you do?
As an intern, you always worry about not doing enough. Working at Nona Lim is great as there are always new things to learn and new challenges to face. When working in a start-up, there is always more that we can do! Every day is different.
Q4
What do you miss most about Singapore?
I miss the convenience of readily available food! Whenever you are hungry, there’s usually a coffee shop and a hawker centre nearby. And there is so much variety – from Chinese to Indian, to Western. And chilli, I really miss chilli! Back home, there’s a type of chilli for every dish, one for chicken rice, Nasi Lemak, and even wan tan mee. Eating wan tan mee or nasi lemak here is just not the same without the chilli 
Q5
Tell us one fun fact about yourself!
I’ve dreamt about working and living in the US since I was nine. Over the years, I kept my dreams close and found ways to achieve it even if I didn’t know where it would lead. After all, if you don’t try, you will never know. So now, I like to think I have two homes – Singapore and US. I love them both, and both are great for different things.
