University is huge and unknown, so how can you feel a sense of home? Look no further than the five houses of RC4, the very core of the Residential College experience. Houses are like factions which residents are grouped into, allowing them to have a smaller tight-knit community to rely on for support throughout their stay. Late-night supper jios, eating meals together in the Dining Hall, playing games on donated game consoles in the lounges past midnight, pulling all-nighters, you name it. No matter the time of day, your house will be your family away from home. 

So what is happening behind the brains of my own house, the House of Aquila? 

Each house has a House Committee who dedicate their time to forge the house’s spirit. At Aquila, we have different teams - Programmes, Welfare and Publicity - which work together with the House Heads to organize various events and gift drops for the residents, all in the spirit of its motto “No Blood No Foul”. 

In the Programmes team, they work throughout the year bringing fun events to residents. From the moment you step in through the doors, you can expect a slew of activities like house bingo, where you can group up with your new neighbours to complete classic RC activities like eating at the supper stretch, doing the well-known tradition of door chalking, or working in the lounge together. Other activities can be larger scale, like night cycling with fellow residents from East Coast Park to the CBD and back to RC4, or to chill out with some karaoke and a chocolate fondue machine in Aquila’s annual Christmas year-end gathering! 

Aquila residents having karaoke and food at our annual year-end Christmas party! 

One of team heads, Year 2 Business Administration resident Sarah Ho commented on her experience, saying that she enjoyed working with other residents in her team to execute Aquila’s various events, and these events are where she can deeply bond with other residents within the house and create strong bonds for others.  

Too busy to catch up on all the events? Don’t fret, the Welfare team has your back with their endless streams of goodies. You could be coming back to your room after class, and all of a sudden you see stacks of snacks in your door pocket, or you could have a free Ice-Cream or Acai event happening a few metres down from your room in the level lounge. Lastly, watch as everyone gathers in your birthday month with handwritten birthday cards from different residents and a birthday cake to commemorate your special day. This is no wonder the team is also known as the Wel-fairies for their huge generosity and treats. 

Not forgetting the last team, Publicity. They are the creatives behind the aesthetics of every Aquila thing and our own Instagram page (@houseofaquila). They regularly feature the people of Aquila in every post, making sure that everyone is included in the achievements and celebrations of the house.  For any events, they are responsible for raising the excitement for them through their posters. Some of these talented artists include Russell Chng, a Year 2 Communications and New Media resident, who shared “As a CNM student (and social media aficionado!), Publicity quite naturally speaks to me [with] the overlap between my interests and proficiencies… My design ethos for posters and Instagram posts have always revolved around creating a larger meta-concept which each individual design cohesively fits within, with a strong emphasis on pop culture.” 

Publicity Head Kelly Amanda, a Year 2 Chemistry resident, reflected on her motivations behind contributing to Aquila’s publicity, saying “it would be fun to do pub[licity] again” as she loves to “go wild with [her] ideas.” She shared this about her inspiration behind the posts, “it’s really very random. It can be from something I saw or just suddenly thought of…Afterwards is just a lot of trial and error honestly. Add a bit here and there until I’m satisfied with it!” 

Finally, every house cannot live without its two House Heads. Their job is to ensure that every resident is included in everything Aquila, while leading the House Committee towards making it an enjoyable place for all. If you need any help, or a buddy to rant about a difficult class with, they are all ears.  

One of the heads, Maisarah Hamdan (Year 2, Biomedical Engineering) shared her reasons for taking up the mantle, saying, “Becoming house head gave me an ‘excuse’ of sorts to interact with more people and get to know them better… It gave me the platform to enact the changes that I wanted to see in a house.” When asked about her experience, she shared that though the “journey can be lonesome at times, having a very active house comm[ittee] made this a much easier journey”, even giving shoutouts to her committee heads and team members like Kelly and Sarah for working tirelessly to keep Aquila running, and for her partner in crime, Gavriel Lim (Year 2 Business Administration) for supporting her throughout the year in leading the house. 

Aquila residents at Marina Bay during the Night Cycling event, one of the most anticipated house events held annually 

When you join RC4, our houses will welcome you with open arms into our big families. We will celebrate your wins, mourn your losses, be the ones to comfort you, and the ones to rely on. Do not worry about any rivalry between the houses, because it is only when our five houses join together in harmony is where we form the RC4 we have loved for 10 years and forevermore.