Peer Teaching Session

Hey guys,

I know you guys are busy with preparation for mid-term exam, but please help us comment on my group's peer teaching session. Good luck for exam! ((:

Billet

My Cover Letter for Shell and the advertisement

Shell Internship

There are countless reasons why you should consider an internship with us.

- opportunity to gain invaluable business experience
- see first-hand what it would be like to work for Shell.

On an internship with us, you can expect to:
• See what the energy industry is really like, from the inside
• Take part in interesting, live projects
• Take on real business challenges
• Get to know current Shell employees and other students
• Find out whether you would enjoy working at Shell
• Track the long-term results of your work
• Build valuable work experience, skills and knowledge.

Product / Process Researcher
It's down to us to make sure that the most innovative technologies are available and applied in the design of new processing routes as well as in the development, improvement and innovation of products. We use in-house expertise as well as acquiring technologies from third parties.

You could be involved in:
Challenging the existing approaches to processing
Researching and developing new catalysts
Creating high-performance fuels and lubricants
Developing sustainable energy technologies
Collaborating with customers on novel product initiatives
Researching new areas of physics in Exploration & Production.



#5-103 Raffles Hall,
19 Kent Ridge Crescent
Singapore 119278
HP: (Hand phone number)
E-mail: (e-mail address)

1 September 2010

Human Resource Manager,
Shell Eastern Petroleum (Pte) Ltd
83 Clemenceau Avenue,
Singapore 239920

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am writing to express my interest in working in Shell on an internship as Product/Process Researcher. I was introduced to this job by the Shell website. Due to my interest in the energy industry, I am very keen to work there.

My name is Thanasak Hoontrakul, currently studying in year 1 Chemical Engineering at National University of Singapore. I have a passion in energy field and qualities which I believe will suit corporate culture the Shell. My passion in improving existing systems led me pursued a Nanyang Research Project in my junior college years in which I worked closely with Nanyang Technological University’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. In this project, I worked with a piezoelectric material which has an interesting property of producing electricity through stress and strain. Through this project, I have learned the skills necessary for engineering research including reading of literature reviews, conducting experiment and writing research paper. All of which will help in the position I applied for.

As my interest lies in energy industry, I have read extensively in this area. I was attracted particularly to the Algae, an easy growing plants as well as a high consumer of carbon dioxide. Both of characteristics are advantageous in being biofuel. To further my scope in energy industry, in my first year, I took a module called “Clean Energy and Storage”. I was also fortunate to personally talk to Professor Klaus Lackner, a leading scientist in Energy Storage, in Columbia University. We discussed about the possibilities of future Energy Storage Systems. I believe that the position I am applying for is working closely with research in sustainable energy in which I am keen to explore. I hope to bring this enthusiasm to the shell community.

Apart from my interests, I am also a very outgoing person. These aspects have earned me various leadership positions such as Golf Captain in secondary school, House Captain in Junior College and House Captain in my hostel. Although I have numerous responsibilities, I was award Service Awards for both house captain positions for outstanding contributions. I believe my ability to work well with people and leadership skills would help me accomplish the assigned tasks.

The experience in Shell would drive me to be more passionate in this industry. The challenging environment in Shell would also stimulate my competitive nature. I believe that if I were to work in Shell I would be able to strive in Shell. I hope I would be given an opportunity to further discuss any possible contribution I could give to the company. I am looking forward to hear from you soon.

Yours sincerely,

Thanasak Hoontrakul

What if your bestfriend sleeps with your girlfriend-to-be?

This is a real story that happened to my friend. For the confidentiality, let’s his name be Peter. Peter was a very lover-like and sweet boy. He could easily fall for girls and be faithful to her for a long time. During the holidays, he met this girl, Helen, in a party. He had quite a good time with her during the party, so Peter asked her out for a few dates. They started getting physically close. Peter realized that the relationship was going quite well, so he wanted his best friend, Fred, to know her. However, Fred was quite good in talking to girls. Off the record, a playboy would describe Fred’s personality.
As Peter wanted his best friend to know his date, all three of them went out together; they all had an enjoyable time, so Fred got her number. Behind Peter’s back, Fred went out with Helen couples of time. Meanwhile, Peter’s feeling for Helen increased tremendously. He liked her very much. Nevertheless, the moment of truth came shortly afterward. Helen told Peter that they should stop seeing each other. Totally bewildered, Peter demanded an explanation, but Helen refused to do so. Nonetheless, after Peter pestered for the answer a few days later, she told him, “Fred and I went out couples of time. Once, we drank together. While we were tipsy, we slept together.” Peter was stoned. His best friend for many years chose to betray him for a girl whom they just knew. He stopped talking to Fred after that incident, although Fred and Helen both apologized and told him it’s because of intoxication. Still, Peter thinks this is too much to forgive them.
Should Peter forgive Fred for his action and talk to him again? After all, if a four-years-long friendship is ended because of a girl who they barely know.

P.S. This story is an account of an incident, so it might not be perfectly accurate. The names in this story are all made-up for storytelling purpose.

Why effective communication is important to me?

‘What is the purpose of my life?’ is the first question I asked before I answer this question. It is of utmost important to know what I want in my life before answering why this skill is important to me. As a 19 years old undergraduate, I have a dream of revolutionizing Thai education system.

As a child born to a middle income family, I am fortunate to be educated in top schools. Therefore, for my teenage years, I always thought of Thai education system as a decent one. However, during the holidays before university started, I had an opportunity to teach at an orphanage house in Thailand for 3 months. It was when I truly understand the education system. The quality of education in the school is so low that primary-one students couldn’t even add two digits numbers together. It may be partly due to their family background. The lack of love from their relatives might suppress their motivation to study. Nevertheless, the problems shouldn’t be blamed on them. We should ask why the government isn’t doing anything to improve the quality of education. Education is not about going to school for 12 years. It is what we learn inside that is important. Without education, quality of life will not improve and they will be idle in society. They could also be used as pawns in political conflicts.

This was the driving force for me to think about how am I going to change this. Personally, I hate politics, especially in Thailand, where corruptions are part of politicians’ lives. Therefore, I have decided I am going to set up a non-profitable organization helping the students especially in rural areas to improve their education and hence their lives.

Now, going back to the question why effective communication is essential in my life. For the goal I am looking at, it is a job that requires effective communication skill ranging from recruiting people to join the organization to effectively teach the children in the rural area. In recruiting and management of organization, effective communication would help in the understanding between colleague. Furthermore, by using speeches to motivate the staffs, the organization would run more efficiently and non-corruptly. Apart from the management side, I also have to go down to the schools and talk to the principals, persuading them to join the movement. We have to convince them that this is not an organization which looking for profits, but we want to help improve the quality of life in those area. Last but not least, I will be the teacher myself. Hence, effective communication will help the student get most from my lessons. Essentially, for my goal to be successful, effective communication is the key.