Bullied student gains confidence and becomes Lee Kuan Yew Award winner

26 Apr 2019

Article featured SP’s Diploma in Computer Engineering graduand, Ryan Ong. Due to his nature as a straight-talker, Ryan was bullied continuously for almost four years during his secondary school days. Many saw him as a troublemaker for not conforming to the norm. The bullying disrupted his studies and resulted in Ryan skipping school for almost a year before transferring to another school just to complete his Secondary Four education. The bullying took a toll on him and Ryan could only qualify for a handful of polytechnic courses due to his bad O level results. However, Ryan saw polytechnic as a new start to his life and decided to choose SP’s Diploma in Computer Engineering as he wanted to play a part in Singapore’s Smart Nation journey. At SP, Ryan built his confidence, character and knowledge. In his first year, he was nominated by his lecturer to assume the role of class representative. The role gave him a boost of confidence and he worked harder to live up to the expectations of his lecturer and classmates. Outside of his classes, Ryan also developed himself holistically by participating actively in events under the SP Primers Club. In May 2019, Ryan will be receiving the Lee Kuan Yew Award and will also graduate as one of SP’s Institutional Medallists. He has already received offers from two local universities and hopes to pursue a career as a legal tech advisor and contribute to Singapore’s Smart Nation journey. COMMS Note: This is part of our Graduation 2019 stories.