Sota alumnus awarded President’s Scholarship
From left: Three of the President’s Scholarship recipients, Mr Lee Tat Wei, Ms Cheri Wee and Mr Lionel Oh, at the Istana yesterday. Ms Wee is the first person from the ‘vocational arts school’ to get the award. Photo: Najeer Yusof
SINGAPORE — At first glance, most people might view the School of the Arts Singapore (Sota) as a “vocational arts school”, said Ms Cheri Wee, who once aspired to be a professional ballerina.
However, while doing research on dance, the 19-year-old came across a study about how performances can evoke emotional responses in an audience — to the extent that dancers’ brains are even physiologically altered over time.
The study sparked her fascination with how the brain works, and that interest will now take her to the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom, where she will read psychology and philosophy.
Ms Wee is among five students who have been awarded the President’s Scholarship this year, making her the first Sota alumnus to receive the prestigious scholarship.
The scholars received their awards from President Tony Tan Keng Yam at a ceremony at the Istana yesterday.
Ms Wee, who started dabbling in Chinese dance when she was eight, found herself loving the art form so much that she would use all her free time to explore other genres, such as ballet, through surfing YouTube videos, reading up and practising at home.
Ms Wee hopes her experience will inspire others to pursue more diverse and unconventional pathways, and to try new things outside their comfort zone.
“By using this platform (as a President’s Scholar), I can help people realise how you can make all these unconventional choices, and eventually carve out a place for yourself in the world.”
She hopes to follow in the footsteps of her father — who is with the Ministry of Defence — and work in a security-related area in the Public Service after completing her studies at Oxford.
For National Junior College student Lionel Oh, being awarded the President’s Scholarship will take him one step closer towards his dream of being a fighter pilot.
The 19-year-old, whose father used to work as a Republic of Singapore Air Force technician, recalled his childhood being filled with visits to the various editions of the Singapore Airshow and him feeling awestruck by the aerobatic manoeuvres.
His father would even nudge a young Lionel to sit in the fighter jet’s cockpit during the airshow’s open house when he was too shy to do so.
“My father always talked about how being a fighter pilot was something special … It requires a certain finesse to operate in such a dynamic environment up in the air where you’re extremely stressed but have to push yourself to the limit,” said Mr Oh, who will be serving in the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) after finishing his studies.
Coming from a humble background, the only child recounted how his parents always stood by him, such as supporting a trip to the United States in 2014 so that he could participate in the World Scholar’s Cup.
He only found out later that they had borrowed money from his grandmother to send him to the international academic competition.
Protecting his loved ones and Singaporeans by being part of the SAF after graduation is a way of him giving back to society, said Mr Oh, who will be studying international relations at Tufts University in the United States.
He believes that the course, which will also cover subjects such as defence, diplomacy and technological advances, will help him in his pursuit of a career as a fighter pilot.
Another President’s Scholar, Mr Lee Tat Wei from Anglo-Chinese School (Independent), credited his achievements to his father, a taxi driver, and his mother, a part-time sales assistant.
His involvement in rugby at school had also helped to shape him into the person he is today.
As a “chubby kid”, Mr Lee, who will be reading liberal arts at Yale University in the US, said he used to be the perennial second reserve who was left out of rugby matches.
One day, when he was 14, he failed to complete a number of laps in time during a fitness drill. Instead of finishing his last lap after the whistle blew, he just lay on the track crying.
However, that moment proved to be “life-changing” for him when the rugby coach started screaming at him and told him to stop feeling sorry for himself.
“Up to that point, I always blamed myself for my failures, but (the coach taught me) to conquer my failures and work on it … That translated to my other pursuits like academics,” said Mr Lee, 19.
Despite not being the “smartest or greatest student” in class, Mr Lee said his love for learning motivated him to “investigate and challenge ideas”. While doing a history essay on the Middle East, for example, he would also read up on topics about faith and religion.
Looking ahead, he acknowledged that the complex, changing world will demand different skills for jobs of the future. However, he believes that his interest in exploring different fields will help him deal with the challenges.
“We’re no longer in a world where a single discipline or vocation can help you. We have to study not just the content, but the way you analyse content,” Mr Lee said.
The other recipients of this year President’s Scholarship are Mr Jasdeep Singh Hundal and Ms Agatha Sacha Lim Lee, both 19 and from Raffles Institution. Mr Jasdeep will study social sciences and history at Sciences Po and University of California, Berkeley, in the US and France; while Ms Lim will pursue philosophy, politics and economics at Oxford University.
