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SPecial mention<br />
extra mile by frequently staying back<br />
after lectures to clear his doubts. “These<br />
sessions sometimes lasted till 9pm or<br />
even later. They are the reason why<br />
I managed to get through my final<br />
year,” he said. His determination and<br />
their support enabled Qin Yuan to score<br />
33 distinctions and As out of his 34<br />
modules.<br />
Besides excellent academic achievements,<br />
Qin Yuan was also very active in CCA.<br />
He participated in the <strong>Polytechnic</strong> Forum<br />
in 2005, Mobile Intensive Learning<br />
Experience (MILE) programme in Japan<br />
in 2006, Overseas Community Project<br />
to the Philippines in 2005 and <strong>Singapore</strong><br />
Robotics Games in 2007, where he won<br />
the gold medal in the open category.<br />
Qin Yuan was also presented with the<br />
Model Student Award in 2007.<br />
He was also a peer tutor and was<br />
involved in organising activities for the<br />
Katong Special School, such as teaching<br />
the mentally-challenged children to read<br />
and speak.<br />
Said Qin Yuan: “Coming from a<br />
background where I didn’t have much,<br />
I know what it is like to be helpless. This<br />
is my way of helping others and making<br />
a difference in their lives.”<br />
Married with a four-month-old daughter,<br />
Qin Yuan is facing life with renewed<br />
vigour. He intends to further his studies<br />
and hopes to get a scholarship to achieve<br />
his goal.<br />
Tan Yan Xin - Formula<br />
One Car Designer in the<br />
Making<br />
While <strong>Singapore</strong>ans desire to own luxury<br />
cars, Tan Yan Xin dreams of designing<br />
a Formula One car. After scoring an<br />
aggregate of seven points for her ‘O’<br />
levels, the former student of Swiss<br />
Cottage Secondary School took the<br />
first step towards realising her dream<br />
by taking up the Diploma in Electrical &<br />
Computer Control Engineering course at<br />
SP - her first choice.<br />
Yan Xin’s hard work saw her getting the<br />
Top Female Student award in the second<br />
and third year of her course. She went on<br />
to become the Top Female Student in the<br />
School of EEE.<br />
On top of her excellent results of 32<br />
distinctions and As, Yan Xin volunteered<br />
once a week to mentor students at<br />
Riverside Secondary School as part of<br />
the BP International Student Mentoring<br />
Programme. For two hours a week, she<br />
counselled and coached the students in<br />
Mathematics. Yan Xin enjoyed bonding<br />
with the students and the mentoring<br />
experience allowed her to meet and<br />
learn from people from different walks<br />
of life.<br />
Besides gaining academic knowledge,<br />
Yan Xin’s time at SP has also strengthened<br />
her character. She singled out the annual<br />
SPINNOVEX student project exhibition<br />
as a fantastic opportunity that helped<br />
to boost her self-confidence. With pride<br />
she presented her ‘health-conscious’<br />
massager chair project to the public. The<br />
idea came to Yan Xin while observing<br />
her father standing for hours manning<br />
his food stall.<br />
The Lee Kuan Yew Award winner’s<br />
interest in Physics prompted her to apply<br />
for the mechanical engineering degree<br />
programme at NTU.<br />
Marilyn Puah Geok Ling<br />
- Success from Knowing<br />
Your Core Values<br />
Family ties played a big part in shaping<br />
Marilyn Puah Geok Ling’s philosophy and<br />
core values. “Good family support is very<br />
important because my family forms the<br />
very foundation of my life,” she said. She<br />
attributed her success to that as well.<br />
that a building is only as strong as its<br />
foundation. “You have to get your basics<br />
right and build on them, and then it’ll be<br />
easier to accomplish great things,” said<br />
this year’s Toh Chin Chye Gold Medal<br />
winner.<br />
Coming from a close-knit family of<br />
six, Marilyn has also developed a close<br />
relationship with her classmates and<br />
lecturers. In fact, they often went for<br />
Good family support<br />
is very important<br />
because my family<br />
forms the very<br />
foundation of my life<br />
supper with their lecturers. And even<br />
though they are no longer studying<br />
together, they have made a pact to meet<br />
up for a meal or outing at least once a<br />
month.<br />
The former Bukit Panjang Government<br />
High student has also developed a<br />
keen interest in the clinical aspects of<br />
optometry. In fact, Marilyn said that she<br />
liked the hands-on aspect of meeting<br />
and helping people with their eyewear,<br />
and advising them on how to take care<br />
of their eyes.<br />
She recalled she was happiest helping<br />
out at a mass eye screening for the<br />
elderly and children from needy families<br />
conducted by the School of CLS in 2006.<br />
“We conducted eye tests and gave them<br />
spectacles. I’m so glad I could do my part<br />
to help them,” she said.<br />
6<br />
This petite Diploma in Optometry<br />
graduate subscribes to a Chinese saying<br />
She also believes in hard work and that<br />
practice makes perfect. “We spent a lot
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