Valera Notes

✈️ Urgent business trip on a two-day notice.  The last few weeks have been rough:  1) Logistics of hiring and boarding a new full-time employee 2) Furnishing the New Office and preparing for the Freshman’s 5th Birthday 3) New Admission Program for 50+ students, sponsored by the Youth Agency  4) Re-building Freshman’s Media team and re-designing the website.  5) Meetings for the Full Support and Admissions Programs. (Lagging on my July Program meetings. But when this happens, I try to compensate with additional meetings).  This is just the tip of the iceberg of all the tasks I had to be engaged in. A bit overwhelming, but I know I can do better.  Invited a personal assistant to help me with these tasks. Excited to see how she will help improve the efficiency of my operation. Thank you for your patience! @valeranotes

🤩😂 Anyone recognizing the legend? @valeranotes

Yesterday, shared our first full-time job offer to a fellow Yale-NUS graduate. We envision bringing the best students and teachers in a shared educational space. @valeranotes

⚡️September Consultations Opened limited consultations in September. In just 45 minutes, you will be surprised how much er can accomplish. For example, in a 30-minute session today, I shared 30+ edits on one student’s motivational essay. My consultations will offer a profound analysis of your written pieces—so skip the questions you can Google. Use our time to bounce off ideas, refine your essays, and receive targeted feedback. Book here: https://calendly.com/freshman-consultations/valera-arakelyan @valeranotes

🎉 Freshman’s Singapore Office: Day 1.0 Exciting times ahead! Freshman Alumni, partners, and teachers will now have a dedicated room whenever they are in Singapore. And yes, the views might look familiar. I’ve rented a spot in the same building I am lucky to rent with my friends. But this time, it’s a dedicated and cosy home office for our new Singapore team. The game is on. @valeranotes

📈On Score Inflation In short, the IELTS is meant to measure your English level. Yet, it often estimates your test-taking skills, not representative of your linguistic ability. I argue that the seeming increase in scores only partially reflects genuine improvement in the command of English. Muhammad Ali and I agree that enhanced scores reflect the progress in English skills and test-taking domains. Yet, we seem to disagree on which of these two factors are more or less salient in driving this growth. Our discussion: https://www.instagram.com/reel/C_dYkKDtjGG/?igsh=MXRvcGZtNHN2anN4Ng== @valeranotes x @alisherposts

🕺My Philosophy Professor Dancing at the Student-Led Show Neil Mehta has been a legend in and out of the classroom. His teachings are foundational to what Freshman Academy has become today. 2019, the pre-pandemic days, were Yale-NUS’ golden years. Just feel the vibes of our community by following the link to the show! @valeranotes

Happy Independence Day! 🇺🇿 Let's never take our freedom for granted. This morning, I had the privilege to meet Mansur, an Uzbek professional in Singapore. You will likely soon learn more about the fully-fledged Uzbekistan Community in Singapore. There is an exciting project in the works we are eager to support. @valeranotes

My Promised Books List The first four books would not take much toll on your mental state. If anything, they will sway you away from nihilism plaguing the intellectual circles. The rest of the list is a no-go zone without having an experienced guide helping you navigate the sheer density of provocative ideas and social-matrix-shattering perspectives. 📚Socratic Dialogues, including "Euthyphro," "Meno," "Phaedo," and "Apology." 📚Alain de Botton's The Consolations of Philosophy 📚 Fareed Zakaria's In Defense of a Liberal Education 📚 Michael Walzer's Spheres of Justice: A Defense of Pluralism and Equality 📚 Charles Taylor's The Ethics of Authenticity 📚 Michel Foucault's Discipline and Punish 📚Hannah Arendt's The Human Condition 📚 Nietzsche's Beyond Good and Evil And yes, do share this list! Let me know when you cover it. I have many more titles in store from my six-year academic journey. @valeranotes

🤣 those who heard the story behind this WILD screenshot 🗿if you did not know, now you know: 48:24 @valeranotes