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From dropout to star student! Veenotth gets the second chance he badly wanted. |
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| The Comeback Kid |
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From a Grade Point Average (GPA) score of 0.7 to a near-perfect 3.8, this sums up comeback kid Veenotth’s amazing transformation from a poly dropout to a top performer.
26-year old Veenotth N Balakrishnan first enrolled into NYP’s Diploma in Accountancy & Taxation programme in 1999. However, he did not focus on his studies and fared very badly – obtaining a GPA of merely 0.7. He subsequently left the poly.
“I was devastated to have dropped out, and most of all, I felt bad for letting down my mother, who had to work very hard to pay for my school fees,” said Veenotth. |
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Thankfully, Mr Lee Tong Nge, then Deputy Director at the School of Business Management, decided to give Veenotth a second chance. “Go to the army, prove yourself there and show me, you have learnt how to appreciate opportunities and be responsible, only then can you come back to me for a place in NYP,” was Tong Nge’s challenge to Veenotth.
Veenotth still didn’t take Tong Nge’s advice seriously, until when he enrolled into national service and considered signing on with the Air Force, and the interviewer told him that he needed a diploma. “Suddenly I remembered Mr Lee’s words, and I decided to take up his challenge and turn my life around,” said Veenotth. He worked hard in national service, and was awarded a certificate of good conduct. Veenotth also took up part-time courses in accounting.
After his national service ended, Veenotth went back to see Tong Nge, and was re-enrolled into NYP in 2006. This time, Veenotth gave his best shot and aced his course. He was even admitted into the Director’s List and awarded a Diploma with Merit. Tong Nge, who is currently Director of the Singapore Institute of Retail Studies (SIRS), was so pleased with Veenotth that he offered him a job at SIRS as a Management Executive.
“I am very grateful to Mr Lee for inspiring me and giving me a second chance in life. Sometimes people make mistakes in life, and all we need is that second chance.”
Veenotth also credits his success to three women in his life – his wife, mother and grandmother, for constantly encouraging and supporting him every step of the way. |
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Soldier Shines in Studies
32-year old Muthukumaran s/o Rangaswamy enrolled in the Diploma in Mechatronics Engineering in NYP under the SAF CLASS Award scheme in 2007. He did not disappoint his employer.
This Staff Sergeant went on to score 17 Distinctions and 12 ‘A’s, topped his course and bagged the Festo Gold Medal. He also excelled in his final year project and won himself the Festo Award for Outstanding Project Work.
“As an adult learner who had left school years ago, I had doubts about whether I would be able to make the grade. But my doubts quickly disappeared, as my lecturers gave me the necessary help to bring me up-to-date with the curriculum. At NYP, I have made close friends, without whom I would not have completed these three years successfully,” said Muthu.
Besides academics, Muthu pursued other interest in NYP and excelled in them too. He designed and built sumo robots for the Singapore Robotic Games and won two champion awards. In his second year, he designed a bus flagging system that alerted a bus driver to a potential passenger at the bus stop and announced the arrival of the bus to senior citizens and the visually handicapped. This project was picked to be presented to Thai Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn during her visit to Singapore in April 09.
Muthu also found time to help fellow students. Through the Care and Share Club, he tutored students who were weak in subjects that he was good at. His achievements and background got him selected for a rare and unique audience with Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew when he visited NYP in January 09. Muthu was one of 10 students chosen for a dialogue session with MM.
So what inspired Muthu to return to school and shine? “My wife and son. I want to give them a better life. For that I must improve myself professionally. Good academic qualifications, I believe, is key to my professional development,” concluded this father of a five-year old boy. |
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| Making the Right Switch |
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Many were stunned when Siti Zawiyah Mohamed announced that she was leaving the media industry to be nurse more than two years ago. Her colleagues then could not comprehend why she would make such a drastic career change. The industry they said was going to lose a creative and talented TV producer. Siti who majored in film and television from Deakin University, Australia was involved in numerous commercial TV programmes and projects. Siti is very well liked for her can-do spirit and hard work. However, her reasons for choosing nursing were not due to push factors alone. |
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“I enjoyed doing TV production work but the jobs were mostly project-based or on a freelance basis. I had also wanted to learn something new, after my last academic pursuit 7 years ago. I wanted to upgrade myself with new knowledge, to indulge myself in a skill that would allow me to be of help, to others and I did not want to hit half a century wishing I had done it. I helped to look after my sick grandparents and at the time, I wished I knew the right things to do for them,” said this bubbly 29-year old.
Siti Zawiyah applied for the Professional Conversion Programme for Registered Nurses that help mid-career applicants like her train to become Registered Nurses. Her two-year full-time Diploma in Nursing course at NYP is sponsored by Singapore General Hospital (SGH). Her parents were supportive of their eldest daughter’s decision.
The rigorous accelerated programme kept Siti her on her toes.
“It was not always fine and dandy. The course required hard work and concentration through the module hours. It was just like work, 8 to 5, only with plenty of unpaid, unofficial overtime. There were also countless assignments and tests.
I was very nervous during my first clinical placement as it we had to deal with real patients and their families The course also requires one to eat his/her humble pie, maintain an open mind,” said Siti
Her Clinical Supervisors describe her as a mature, diligent, highly motivated and caring individual.
Siti’s hard work and perseverance has paid off. She topped her cohort and will be awarded the MOH Gold Award this year. Siti remains modest about her achievements.
“I couldn’t have done this without the support from my family, lecturers and fellow course mates. I take my hat off to my endearing classmates who have families and dependents of their own to look after, on top of the academic workload. Despite the increasing demands of the course, they never bailed.
Nursing is a lifelong skill. The best reward for me would be seeing a patient pull through during their ward stay and that simple thank you uttered to me with the smile of gratitude is a fulfilling reward I gain, which no money can buy. I have no regrets,” she said.
Siti Zawiyah was awarded the MOH Gold Medal at NYP Graduation 2009. |
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| She Followed Her Heart |
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Angela Kirk Hui Ping’s parents were unhappy when she decided she wanted to be a nurse. Her engineer dad and housewife mum were against the idea as they wanted Angela to go to a junior college and then take up a business degree. |
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“They strongly objected because they didn’t think that nursing was a good career choice for me. They believed that I had better job prospects if I have a business business degree. We were still arguing hours before application for the course closed. I applied anyway,” she recalled.
Angela is glad she followed her heart. She wanted to be a nurse since young. She had been a warded several times in her early years for asthma and the caring nurses who took care of her left her inspired. She felt that she could help others as well.
“During a clinical placement at KK hospital in Year 2, my course mate and I encountered a 15-year old who suffered from anorexia. She was not much younger than the two of us so we treated her like a friend, not a patient. We were happy when she started eating again. She got well and went back to school.”
Underneath her quiet demeanour, is a hard working and determined student.
“Sometimes it was quite hectic to juggle classes, projects and clinical placements, all at the same time. It was tough at times but the help and encouragement from my course mates and my mentors kept me going.”
Angela was one of three students selected to do a 4-week attachment programme at University of Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia, USA. The University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing is a top-ranked nursing school in the country.
“The attachment was a truly enriching one as it gave me the opportunity to work and study in USA. I was exposed to new nursing ideas, concepts and various opportunities available in nursing. It gave me a chance to meet other international students and learn their culture’.
What do her parents say now?
“I never set out to prove them wrong in the first place but they are extremely happy and proud with my achievements now.”
Angela was awarded the MOH Gold Medal, NHG Award for Clinical Education in Nursing and Capitaland Healthcare Frontliners Award at NYP Graduation 2009. |
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| The Optimist |
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Like many graduating students, Dorcas was worried about securing a job in the current economic climate. Despite the highly competitive job market, Dorcas managed to snag two job offers, from an audit firm and the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS). The job interview panel at CAAS was so impressed with her confidence and impressive credentials that they offered her a job on the spot.
“I think they liked my confidence and, my organizational and people management skills – traits they were looking for in each applicant. I was surprised when I was hired on the spot,” she said. |
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She now works as a Corporate Services Officer with CAAS' Corporate Strategy and Development Department.
Dorcas Tan is an optimist. She exudes a quiet and cool confidence of a leader and go-getter. Hence, it is no surprise that this third year Diploma in Accountancy & Finance graduate was not only a bright student but excelled in her CCAs as well. She was Vice president of the School of Business Management Club, helped organized the school’s Orientation programme, was a panel chair for a Student Dialogue Session with Member of Parliament Mr Masagos Zulkifli and NYP athlete. She was also one of the 10 students selected to meet Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew during a dialogue session in January 2009 when MM Lee visited NYP. She smiled when dubbed an over-achiever.
“I don’t like to keep still and these activities keep me occupied,” she said, humbly.
What’s unknown to many is her modest family background. Dorcas lost her dad to cancer when she was only nine years old. She was in primary three at that time. The family suffered a setback financially as he was the sole breadwinner. To support Dorcas and her twelve year old brother, Dorcas’s mum took up a job as a teaching assistant at an infant care centre.
As she got older, both she and her brother took up part-time jobs to supplement the family’s income. She worked as a banquet waitress while waiting for her GCE ‘O’ level results, while her brother gave tuition.
She received financial assistance from Edusave, her church and an MOE bursary worth $800 for her education at NYP. Her pay as an NYP certified NAPFA trainer supplemented her allowance – of which a small portion was given to her mum for her family’s expenses. Dorcas, however, remains frugal although she does allow herself a treat sometimes.
“I hope to further my studies in the future but I am putting it off for a while as I want to focus on my new job. Furthermore, there will be many training opportunities for staff like myself in the company. I also prefer to pursue a degree in areas most relevant to my job – something I’m unsure of at this point,” she said. |
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| She was Selected from More than 500 Job Applicants |
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Immediately after graduation, Toh Kai Feng found a job as Human Resource (HR) Coordinator at Sheraton Towers Singapore despite stiff competition. She found the job through an online search, and after she was hired, she learnt there were more than 500 applicants for the job. The hotel shortlisted about 10 best candidates before selecting Kai Feng eventually.
“I must say that I’m quite lucky,” said a humble Kai Feng. But it was more than mere luck. Kai Feng’s passion for hospitality-related area – coupled with her NYP training – helped her secure the job.
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This former graduate of Unity Secondary discovered her strong interest in the service sector while working in a restaurant in Paragon after her ‘O’ levels. “I discovered that I really enjoyed interacting with people, and helping them. So when I was given the option to switch to Hospitality & Resort Management after my first year, I grabbed the chance,” she recalled.
Kai Feng found her course practical and useful for a career in the hospitality industry. In particular, she spent six months as an intern at Crowne Plaza Changi Airport. “There, I discovered my passion for serving others. I was very encouraged and touched when guests would pay me compliments for my level of service. These are both written and verbal compliments, and they really made my day!” she recalled. As an intern, Kai Feng spent three months in Food & Beverage, and the remaining three months in HR. It was there that her interest in HR developed and so, when an advertisement for a HR position in Sheraton Towers came up, she applied for the job.
Kai Feng, who started work in March 2009, is still learning the ropes of her new job. She relishes new challenges and the training she is undergoing, which includes learning how to interview and recruit part-timers, and mastering hotel policies and procedures. “I hope to continue to work in the hotel or tourism industry, and take up a degree course in a few years, after I have saved enough,” said Kai Feng, who is strongly independent, and has supported herself in her NYP studies by working as a part-time waitress. |
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| She Runs a Thriving Blogshop While Doing Clinical Attachments |
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When she was not doing her clinical attachment, Diploma in Nursing student - Genevieve Goh would be designing clothes, meeting up with suppliers, sourcing for the latest fashion accessories or packing orders to be sent by courier.
Genevieve, 19, is the co-owner of a blogshop, www.trooops.blogspot.com She runs this shop together with her cousin Jamie Goh, a commerce student from Melbourne University. The blogshop offers hip and trendy male and female clothing, shades and accessories. Genevieve also successfully designed her own clothes. |
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Genevieve, a graduate from Serangoon Gardens Secondary, took up the Diploma in Nursing course at NYP because she wanted to learn more about the healthcare industry and to help others. During her course of studies, she gradually became more interested in business too. “My cousin and I have always been interested in running our own business. Our blogshop got going last year when we managed to get a consignment of trendy Korean shades, and put these up for sale,” explained Genevieve.
The girls work well together. Genevieve looks into pricing, sources for new merchandise, deals with suppliers, attains and ships merchandise and does customer relations and sales. She also does her own modelling of her accessories and clothes. Jamie, on the other hand, manages the website and handles accounts. “It helps that we’re cousins. We're family, so even if we have arguments with each other, we have learnt how to compromise,” said Jamie.
Added Genevieve, “I’m really thankful for Jamie for fulfilling my dream of running our own blogshop. Without her, this own blogshop would not have been possible!”
Besides selling clothes and accessories, Genevieve has designed and manufactured her own clothing range, which has been a hit to customers. She has since designed a fitting tank-top with a good cut, a skirt as well as “safety shorts” (to be worn under mini skirts.)
Said Genevieve, “We only sell clothes that we love and would wear ourselves. Besides selling clothes, we hope to inspire our customers through our website, so that they can be inspired to try out new fashion ideas.”
Business has been brisk, especially after an article on Genevieve appeared on the NYP student portal last year. Nowadays, she sells more than 100 items every week. She has also developed a loyal customer base. To her, getting new orders and receiving positive feedback from her customers have been most satisfying, and it encourages her to work even harder.
How did Genevieve cope with her hectic NYP schedule and her business? “It was all a matter of organisation and time management, and finding extra time to fit in the business,” she said. “For example, when I had clinical attachment in the afternoons, I spend my mornings running my business.”
Genevieve plans to take up a degree in mass communications next. “I still love Nursing and found it very fulfilling. I will continue to practise my Nursing skills when I have opportunities in future. In the meantime, since I’m young, I would like to explore mass communications as a career option,” she said. |
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