From delinquent to top Singapore Polytechnic graduate: Maths teacher gave me hope

09 May 2019

Article featured SP’s institutional medallists, Tan Wee Kiat and Callista Anne Yin Kai Ren. Wee Kiat shared that his bad behaviour in primary school led to poor results in PSLE, which saw him entering the Normal (Technical) stream in secondary school. He was also frequently involved in fights and was on the brink of expulsion after given four strokes of the cane over a particular incident. The turning point came in Secondary 3 when he began excelling in his worst subject, which prompted him to challenge himself to excel in the other subjects as well. He did, and enrolled in SP’s diploma in visual communication & media design after. The 22-year-old plans to pursue a degree in visual communication before returning to SP to mentor aspiring designers. On the other hand, Callista Anne Yin, who is from the diploma in applied drama & psychology, credits her younger sister – who has dyslexia and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder – for her passion to pursue social issues. She also suffered from anxiety attacks and isolation, and broke down often when she was in Secondary 4. Wanting to spread awareness about mental health, Callista led a team to produce an interactive theatre programme for the Institute of Mental Health during her time in SP. The programme also received funding from the National Youth Council for an additional run at *Scape Singapore. Both Wee Kiat and Callista were presented the Tay Eng Soon Gold Medal and IMDA Gold Medal, and the Tan Kay Yong Gold Medal and Sheng Hong Gold Medal respectively, by the Minister for Social and Family Development Desmond Lee at SP's 59th Graduation Ceremony yesterday. They are part of the 5,621 SP graduates getting their diplomas, advanced diplomas, specialist diplomas and certificates. COMMS Note: This is part of our Graduation 2019 stories. 
[The New Paper, Online]