They took polytechnic route to achieve their dreams
Despite junior college (JC) being her best bet to get into university, Miss Judith Chan Jiamin chose to take the polytechnic route.
Miss Chan, 19, had planned to to pursue psychology in JC but instead chose the diploma in applied drama and psychology at Singapore Polytechnic (SP) after finding out about it at SP's Open House.
She told TNP: "I have interest in both drama and psychology. (This diploma course) is the first of its kind. If I don't enrol now, I may not get the chance in future."
Miss Chan worked hard to prove that after polytechnic, she could get into a psychology course in university.
She has since been accepted by the National University of Singapore, Nanyang Technological University and the University College London to read psychology.
Another SP graduate, Mr Ong Qin Hui, who was diagnosed with dyslexia when he was eight, struggled with writing and spelling and would take longer to understand concepts.
Said Mr Ong: "I had to keep practising mathematics concepts until I understood. For English, I read more newspapers."
He discovered his strength in visualising 2D plans and 3D structures during art lessons in secondary school.
It was then that he decided to enrol into SP's diploma in landscape architecture.
But Mr Ong struggled with time management as he required more time to understand concepts.
Thankfully, his family, friends and lecturers supported him all the way.
"When I needed help with certain concepts, I would approach my lecturers who are kind enough to repeat or elaborate on topics," said Mr Ong.
Meanwhile, Miss Lim Li Yee's interests in art and gaming was met with disapproval from her parents.
"My parents noticed my interest in drawing and gaming and discouraged me. They saw it as unproductive with no future," she said.
Miss Lim, 24, went on to JC as per her parents wishes.
STRUGGLE
She struggled and failed her A-levels twice.
That was when her parents decided to let her decide her career path.
She jumped at the chance to pursue her passion and enrolled in SP's diploma in games design and development.
Miss Lim graduated with a GPA of 3.8 and hopes to join an indie game company in Singapore after university.
Get The New Paper on your phone with the free TNP app. Download from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store now