Our Alumni

I was endlessly fascinated by science as a student, particularly in physics and astronomy. I was captivated by how we as a species tried to answer through science the cosmic questions of how we came to be, who we are and where the future was headed.

The field of course was vast and intimidating, especially to a young student. I was very fortunate to have had the mentorship of my teachers, who taught me how to read academic papers, process information, undertake research projects and communicate scientific findings effectively, culminating in a successful Master’s research project that was presented at a poster session, regrettably in absentia, at the American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting 2019. My teachers were there to point me to the next step through my journey, and I was inspired to pay it forward by doing the same for others.

I am thus taking on a PGDE now at the National Institute of Education and hope to help my students explore and deepen their interests, whatever they may be.

I was in both the Science and Maths Council (SMC) and the Debates and Oratorical Society during my time in ACJC. In SMC, I worked together with a wonderful group of talented friends to host large-scale quizzes, fora and events. Though the preparation for these events was tough and gruelling at times, the friendships forged and memories created have a special place in my heart; it was magical to see our efforts come to fruition on event days, and knowing after that the preparation was all worth it!

The organisational skills I picked up in SMC came in really useful when I was secretary for the Cambridge University Physics Society in 2016, where we held weekly talks with eminent physicists throughout term. I was also Issue Editor for Issue #44 of BlueSci, the university’s student science magazine. And for something completely different - I was Stage Manager for the first ever Singaporean production at the Corpus Playroom, Boom, that was put up in 2018.

On the events side of things, I learned the importance of leadership through bonding people together under a common vision, of capitalising on each other’s’ strengths, of having discipline and of having a heart of service. I joined SMC seeking improvement for myself but graduated wanting to help and serve others.

In terms of skills, I learned the art of setting questions, writing clear resource packages and tapping on the power of spreadsheet. In particular, I picked up emceeing: the skills of voice control, sustaining and directing attention and improvisation are incredibly useful now in my current job as a teacher!