I am on my way to becoming my own boss – and NYP’s helped me get here.
School of Information Technology
Ong Chong Yong
Diploma in Information Technology, Year 3
Growing up, I’ve always aspired to be my own boss. I guess it could be because I wanted to follow my dad’s footsteps as a business owner. But I also wanted the ability and freedom to create innovative solutions for the market.
After finishing O Levels, I was browsing through course booklets, and the career pathway of being a technopreneur caught my eye. I applied for SIT’s Diploma in Information Technology, and never looked back since.
I’ve always been a hands-on person. I spend most of my free time watching videos on hardware technologies and building PCs. I believe in learning functional skills over mugging textbook knowledge, so I was certain the poly’s learning structure and curriculum suited me better.
However, going against my parents’ wishes for a JC education proved to be no mean feat. They were concerned that the poly GPA system, where results were a consolidation of assessments over three years, might mean that I had to consistently work hard to get a good score at the end of the course.
I’m glad I managed to convince them that the poly route was the way to go. The poly system allows you to focus on the learning process, rather than just the results. NYP has further reinforced my passion for technology as my lecturers often give me useful tips on how it works in the professional IT field.
Since joining NYP, I’ve maintained a perfect 4.0 GPA. I've also been clocking project distinctions and getting awarded with certifications for all three of my diploma pluses - all while participating and winning in competitions. Plus, I was awarded with the NYP Mid-term scholarship in my second year.
The Diploma Plus Programme is offered to eligible students to broaden their learning and develop specialised skills and knowledge, during their school holidays. It gives us an edge when applying to universities too.
Fun fact – I took up the Diploma Plus in Swift Programming during my holidays as I had an upcoming module for Swift in the next Sem, and thought it’ll be fun to get a head start and gain new skills.
Being part of this course at NYP has gotten me so stoked about the technology field, and I plan to further my studies in computer science in university. After that, I’d like to work in the IT field for two to three years and hopefully start my own business by the time I'm 30. I’m sure the skills, knowledge and hands-on experience acquired in NYP will help prepare me for my next lap.
One of my lecturers once told me, “Poly is like a stepping stone, it’s how big the stone you put it to be”. I hold this advice dearly, as I believe the world is my oasis.
#BecauseWeCan