He overcame pain to go back to school

03 May 2016

The New Paper, 3 May 2016 - Article featured SP’s Diploma in Creative Writing for TV and New Media graduand, Lim Tong Lee. Tong Lee suffers from a rare autoimmune disorder, called vesiculobullous disease, which results in painful blisters on his body. Due to his condition, he dropped out of the Singapore Institute of Management where he was pursuing a degree in business at the age of 24. In 2013, his condition finally improved after he tried a drug that suppresses the immune system, and he decided to study again and enrolled in SP at the age of 30. Tong Lee also shared how his classmates and lecturers helped him juggle his health and studies. For modules that required filming, his classmates and lecturers arranged for him to do more pre-production and post-production work as he was unable to work outdoors for long hours. In his final year, Tong Lee did a six-month internship at the Autism Resource Network where he edited press releases and filmed training videos. His supervisor, Mr Dino Trakakis, praised Tong Lee for demonstrating initiative and grit in his work despite his skin condition.