
Hard
work, perseverance, determination, and a drive to succeed – just some of the
characteristics shared by many scholars. Graduates of Anderson Junior College
and Serangoon Junior College displayed the uncanny ability to adapt to the
changes in their environment as their schools prepared for their merger this
year.
As
the top scorers from their schools, Ho Jian Feng of the former SRJC and
Richmond Sin Jing Xuan of the former AJC share their experiences leading up to
the merger, and how the school’s support helped them to achieve their
well-deserved results.
Seeking Council
As
members of the student council, Jian Feng and Richmond played a part preparing
for the merger when they helped to plan the orientation for their juniors. This
was a first in a lot of ways, and was certainly no bed of roses. Reflecting on
the experience, Richmond shares, “At the start, it was definitely hard to work
with one another with the differences in culture, but towards the middle of
orientation, we managed to put down certain things that we did differently and
really came together.”
Jian
Feng also counts this among his learning experiences at his JC. While he had
not originally planned to join such a demanding co-curricular activity, he was
inspired by his house captain and applied for the position. “I realised it was
quite fun, and I learned a lot of things like how to guide a group of people,
and how to plan things out as a committee.”
Learning from role models
Besides
their experiences in student council, the boys are also grateful for the
guidance they received from their teachers. Jian Feng recounts the dedication
his math teacher displayed as a particularly inspiring example. Besides his
dedication to students who needed help, his teacher also had a poignant lesson
that Jian Feng has truly taken to heart. “Knowing I’m a high achiever, he would
motivate me to push harder, and also to help others at the same time. He
believed that we should always help others and give back to the people around
us, so he was a huge motivator for me.”
For
Richmond, the turning point of his time at JC was when his council teacher
helped reframe his perspective. “For council, we usually focus more on the
task, but he corrected me and told me that the people matter more than the
task. He said that it’s only with the heart that one can see what’s essential
to the eye, and that’s when I really started looking at the people aspect
rather than the task aspect.”
Reaching to the future
Moving
forward, Jian Feng intends to pursue a bond-free scholarship. He looks forward
to more experiences that will broaden his horizons that will help him decide
what he wants as a career in the long term. For now, he’s considering pursuing
something related to numbers for his studies, and is interested in finding out
more about culture differences in various countries.
On
the other hand, Richmond wants to pursue the SAF Scholarship. “I see it as a
meaningful career and feel that it’s an essential part of everything we are
doing right now. There’s no point in having a growing economy without defence,”
he muses as he shares his aspirations for his career. On what he looks forward
to with his scholarship, he adds, “I hope that the scholarship will provide me
with more opportunities to learn from higher-ranking officers and what they
have experienced on their own journey. I look forward to the mentorship that is
part of the scholarship.”