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SINGAPORE : This year's four new President's Scholars not only aced their studies but also have their hearts and minds anchored in service to the community.
The four young individuals received their awards from President SR Nathan at the Istana on Friday evening.
19-year-old Joshua Jeyaraj, an active sportsman at Anglo-Chinese School Independent, contributed to the Youth Olympic Games (YOG) as a volunteer in the creative committee.
"We helped to brainstorm ideas that could be used in the opening ceremony. These included for example an extension of the floating platform into the Bay; suggestions as to how the torch could be lighted; and we also proposed the idea of how the whole ceremony could be conducted like a story unfolding," said Jeyaraj, a President's Scholarship recipient.
Jeyaraj will head to University College London to read law and will join the Legal Service when he returns.
19-year-old Chow Yi Ling of Victoria Junior College works with grassroots bodies to feel the pulse on the ground.
She is a member of the Hougang Youth Executive Committee and Residents' Committee.
"For us, working in the public service, the bottomline is that we serve the needs of Singaporeans. And I think it will be tragic if the people who work in the formulation of policies... don't know what Singaporeans want and what Singaporeans need," said President's Scholarship recipient, Chow.
Chow will be reading Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Warwick University in the UK.
19-year-old Sharon Tan of Raffles Institution is an interviewer and petition writer at the Meet-The-People sessions of Nee Soon South.
She said: "The meet-the-people sessions give me the opportunity to, on one hand contribute to the people in my community, and on the other hand expose me to the kind of difficulties they face in life.
"Coming from a slightly-sheltered background, I guess what this does is that it allows me to understand how difficult some peoples' lives can be, and made me more appreciative of what I have today."
Concurrent holder of the Singapore Armed Forces Overseas Scholarship, Tan will be heading to Stanford University in the US to read Earth Sciences and Political Sciences.
Joshua Goh of Catholic Junior College, who's 18, has been helping the less fortunate, like delivering bread to the needy.
Goh will be studying chemistry at Imperial College London.
The President's Scholarship is the most prestigious class of university undergraduate scholarships awarded to Singapore citizens.
In most years, only two to four President's Scholarships are awarded. Many recipients of the scholarship go on to top positions in the civil service and government sector. - CNA /ls
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