Teen rebel now graduating with top honours

30 Jul 2018

Article featured Edwin Tan, whose concern for his sick mother sparked a turnaround while he was at ITE. He did well enough in ITE to get into SP’s Diploma in Electrical and Electronic Engineering after completing National Service. While he was in polytechnic, he had to juggle his studies with caring for his mother as she was frequently ill. Even though he graduated with a diploma with merit, he did not think of going to university as he thought his limit was only a diploma. He then spent two years working as an assistant superintendent in the offshore industry. His colleagues encouraged him to apply for university, and he eventually got accepted directly into the second year at Nanyang Technological University (NTU), taking up bursaries to pay his tuition fees. Today at 30 years old, Edwin graduates from NTU with an Honours (Highest Distinction) degree in electrical and electronic engineering. In March this year, when Edwin landed a job as a project engineer in the civil sector, he told his mother to retire. (The Straits Times, pB10)