Mentoring Scheme

Activities include leadership camps, personal grooming workshops, communication skills courses and communication service projects. Part of the programme also aims to deepen the students' political awareness. This is done through observing Parliamentary proceedings as well as sitting in the MP's Meet-The-People Sessions.

Through these and other exciting activities like debates, quizzes and job attatchments, Mentoring Scheme students benefit by discovering and realizing their potential above and beyond the pursuit above and beyond the academic excellence.

Sharing by Ex-Student Lim Joo Hong

Joo Hong was a second-intake ASEAN Scholar (02/03 batch) who joined the college in May 2002. He was a very focused and diligent student. Within half a year, he topped his class with 4 Distinctions in the Promotional Exam. He obtained 4 Distinctions again in the Preliminary Exam and 7 Distinctions in the GCE 'A' Level Exam (4 A's for Maths, Further Maths, Chemistry and Physics, A1 for Chinese AO, B3 for GP and Distinctions for Maths and Physics 'S'-papers). He attributed his excellent results to hard work. He was a very helpful, modest and appreciative student who was well-liked by both his peers and teachers.

Joo Hong did not come from a well-to-do family background. He was born in Sabah but moved to Penang some years later after his father passed away. He came back to Singapore to work soon after his 'A' Level Exam (end of December) to try to earn money to support himself and to save up for his university education. A few months after the release of 'A' Level results, he was awarded a scholarship by SempCorp Industries (a big corporate in Singapore) to study Chemical Engineering at the Imperial College in UK. He did very well in his first year's exam last year.

I think Joo Hong is a good role model for all of you. I requested him to share his experiences by writing an article. He has kindly written the following article sharing his experience as an ASEAN scholar, his scholarship interviews and life at Imperial College. I hope it will help to inspire you.

Mrs Tag

ASEAN

Life as an ASEAN scholar in Singapore is never an easy one. The high requirements to meet, i.e. to keep up with excellent results to get the scholarship renewed each time after exam make the title 'ASEAN scholar' an even more daunting one. Not to mention other obligations like CCA's, SAT, project work etc. Is the ASEAN scholarship a hoax to add more misery to my life?

Yet, life is not always as bad as what you initially think. You are given the challenges because someone knows that you can handle it. After everything that you have gone through, when you look back and reflect, you would be amazed - I actually managed to go through everything!

I was one of the 6 second intake ASEAN scholars in TJC, i.e. I came half a year later than the rest. Life appeared to be really stressful initially for it was the first time every subject was taught in English. I was also lagging behind the rest by 6 months. I did not even know what partial fractions were! Is numerator the one upstairs? Or is it the denominator?

Fortunately, we had a bunch of great tutors who never hesitated to travel the extra miles to ensure that we were able to cope with the workload at that time - to catch up with the work left behind half a year ago as well as the current tutorials. Also, the seniors who were indeed helpful to help us settling down in this new place which seemed alien to us.

In the end, everything went well, albeit with some hiccups in between like some scholars getting conditional renewal, the SARS outbreak in 2003, hostel conflicts etc. Even more gladly, no one in the end regret being an ASEAN scholar for what we attain eventually is not only academic excellence, but also beautiful friendships (we still keep in touch till now) as well as invaluable student life experience in Singapore.

In the light of everything that I have gone through, I personally find the following few points worth-sharing:

Consistency i.e. time management is undeniably the most crucial factor. Plan well ahead and complete the tutorial sheets as early as you can. The best is to have your tutorial on par with the lecture (though this had never occurred to me before). Get the tutorials done over the weekend and you can have a peaceful sleep every night throughout the week, as you need to burn the midnight oil during weekdays anymore. Bear in mind that the tutorial sheets are not meant to make your life miserable.

Pay attention in lectures. This is a hard one, especially when you are sleep-deprived. Try to have something in your mouth, e.g. sweets, sour plum or even drink water to keep you awake. No matter how boring the lecture is, there are still some benefits that you can reap off the lecture. Try to imitate the lecturers and you can remember even more stuff.

Being hardworking might result in you being stigmatized as a 'Kiasu' person. However, I do not find working hard for the sake of your own result is a sign of 'Kiasuism'. Even though it is, there is still nothing wrong with it. You are just striving for your own future and academic excellence.

Some might say that staying in the room all day studying constitute a sad life. I was wondering which one is sadder - studying in the room now and strive for an excellent result, or studying in the room later after getting a conditional renewal, i.e. scholarship on the verge of termination.

I always think that there are two types of smart people in this world - inherently smart or diligently smart. If you think that you fall into the former category, you are a genius and you need minimum work to be successful. Unfortunately, most of us fall into the latter category, which means that smartness comes only after diligence. I would hence say that there is no other way to success apart from being hardworking, diligent and consistent. There comes in my favourite quote from Aristotle - the root is bitter, but the fruits are sweet (exclude lemon).

SembCorp

At first, I was in doubt if I should apply for any overseas universities. A friend of mine came up and told me to just apply in order to not let myself regret in the future. Eventually, I did and I got a conditional offer from Imperial College.

But an offer without scholarship meant nothing to me, for it was simply too costly to further educations in the United Kingdom. That was why I applied for a few scholarships after my preliminary exams, even though I knew that the application process was really exhausting.

My application for the SembCorp scholarship began with filling an online application form in their website. It proceeded with 3 rounds of rigorous interviews and a tea session during which I was asked to write an essay about why I wanted to be a SembCorp scholar.

After going through all these procedures, I personally find it worthwhile to mention the following points especially when tackling the interviews:

Be prepared - Research about the organization before going into the interview room. Find out the various business units that the organization is operating and if possible what they are doing exactly. Inappropriate questions like 'How much will I be getting every month as my allowance?', 'How long do I have to work here?', 'What is my starting salary?' must not be asked as they would only reflect your ignorance and how materialistic you are. Instead, ask sensible questions like, 'Which is the business unit that is sponsoring the scholars this year?', 'Is lateral shift (from technical side to management side) applicable to scholars?', 'In what direction is the company going in the future?' etc. These would make you sound keen in obtaining the scholarship. Interviewers are generally looking for scholars who can contribute to the company and make their investment in the scholar worthwhile. Hence, it would be useful to ponder how you can contribute to the company when you are serving the bond.

Know the direction that the company is going in the future - usually ask the scholarship officer/coordinator. I was lucky because I knew that SembCorp was looking into the polymerization industry in the next few years and hence they needed chemical engineers and that was what I had applied for. I put this key point in the essay that I was asked to write during the tea session and it granted me the third and final interview.

Be honest. Interviewers are very experienced personnel who have seen numerous applicants. There is no way that a lie can get passed them without being identified as a lie. They are looking for someone with sincerity and thus, be as honest as possible and do not make up any baseless traits in you. I was asked if I had read 'San Guo Yan Yi' (Romance of the Three Kingdoms) before and I honestly answered 'Sorry, I have not.' because I knew that I would get into trouble if I said yes. But, eventually, it was always good to display some minimal knowledge about it. I outlined the main characters in the legend with some basic storylines.

Interview experience and skills. This is something that cannot be acquired overnight. Some people actually applied for numerous scholarships so that they can attend as many interviews as possible to gain the experience. Common courtesy like shaking hands before and after the interviews ought to be learned. However, avoid being too pretentious as this annoys the interviewers.

Sound mature. I was asked about the last book that I read. I answered Zhang Manjuan's 'Hai Shui Zheng Lan' instead of 'Harry Potter V' for obvious reasons. Also, I was asked if I would be willing to further my education in China. Although I was a bit reluctant in doing so, knowing that China would be the next global big thing, I still gave a positive answer which sounds like, 'it would be a great opportunity to be in one of the top universities in the world, for Qinghua and Jiaotong Universities are well known for their scholastic students. I wouldn't mind going there.'

Be appropriately humorous at times. I was asked if I could foresee myself in a labsuit. Once again for obvious reasons, I gave a positive answer, 'Yes, I could foresee myself in a blue labsuit, working in a factory with a big bulging belly when I hit 40 years old.' The panel burst into laughter.

Lastly, I must say that I got this scholarship because I was really lucky to get a bunch of nice and friendly interviewers. I personally enjoyed the last round of interview, though it was with the Deputy President of the whole SembCorp group and the CEO's of the various business units and the head of scholarship department. They were so nice that I did not actually feel that I was in the interview. It felt more like a chatting sessions with some intermittent laughter in between. When I got a call from SembCorp in the same afternoon, my dream of furthering my education in Imperial College come true.

Imperial College

Life in Imperial College really depends on what course you are in. For me in Chemical Engineering, life is slightly more relaxing than that in TJC. No CCA obligations, no PE and of course, no continuous tutorials and lectures.

It is a place that I get to meet people all around world - England, Germany, Italy, Spain, Poland, Cyprus, China, Nigeria and of course, Malaysia and Singapore. It would be amazing to know that one common language can bring so many people together. And of course, knowing so many people from different places would make traveling much economical and easier.

It is also a place that all life skills learned in school come in handy. Cooking and doing laundry have become daily routines at home as eating out and going to the launderette is unforgivably expensive in London. Not to mention, to plan my daily schedule properly so that I put every moment in my life in use.

I also manage to travel to a few European countries for holidays, like Spain, Belgium, Netherlands etc. Though they are just short and economical trips, it is always good to take a break off the jungle concrete of London. Traveling has become a crucial 'chore' to do whenever it comes to holidays. How often do I get to come to Europe?

There are two more years down the road before I graduate and start serving my bond with SembCorp. That means another two years of student life and I would have to join the workforce thereafter, flipping over to another page of my life.

Written by Lim Joo Hong (2006)

Balancing the Demands of JC Life

For tips on how to live JC life to the hilt, read on...

7 Study Tips you need to survive Junior College

2. Complete your tutorial problems or assignment in advance
Get to know your tutors. If you are having problems with a subject, talk it over with your tutor as soon as you can.

3. Find at least one or two friends in each class to study with
Studies show that students who study with someone are better motivated and achieve better grades.

4. Make use of resources in college
Use the library, internet or other learning aids regularly to help with your studies.

5. Set goals
Goals give your life, and the way you spend your time, direction. Set target grades for each subject which are realistic and achievable.

6. Manage your time effectively
Make a list of all the things you need to do daily. Divide your workload into manageable chunks. Prioritize. Schedule your time realistically. Stick to your deadlines.

7. Reward yourself
Even for small successes, celebrate achievement of goals. Promise yourself a reward for completing each task, or finishing the total job. Doing so will help you maintain the necessary balance in life.

9 Tips on Planning a Revision Time Table

2. Spend time planning and organizing
Using time to think and plan a revision time table is time well-spent. In fact, if you fail to take time for planning, you are, in fact, planning to fail. Decide which subjects and which topics you will revise in each session in a day. Avoid hard subjects in the afternoon.

3. Be Flexible
Allow time for interruptions and distractions. With this time, you will have the flexibility to handle interruptions and the unplanned "Emergency"

4. Consider your Biological Prime Time
This is the time of day when you are at your best. Are you a "morning person" or a "night owl"? Planning to use this time of day for your priorities (if possible) is effective time management.

5. Do the right thing right
Draw up a list of topics you plan to revise each day. As you read your notes, use a highlighter pen, picking out the most useful points. Make notes on a card or in a notebook, including the important points from each section.

6. Be Creative
Use a variety of revision methods until you find what's best for you. Try revising with a friend, test each other by asking questions from exam papers or try to answer the questions under exam conditions. Use pictures and diagram as ways to remember things.

7. Conquer Procrastination
Do it! Move it! Make it happen! No one ever sat on their way to success. Give a copy of your timetable to someone so they can help you stick to it and put a copy on your wall so you can keep track of what you are supposed to be doing and when.

8. Learn to say "NO"
Such a small word - and so hard to say. Learn to say no to interruptions or trivial tasks which do not have long term benefits for you. Focusing on your goals may help.

9. Reward yourself
Even for small successes, celebrate achievement of goals. Promise yourself a reward for completing each task or finishing the total job. Then keep your promise to yourself and indulge in your reward. Doing so will help you to maintain the necessary balance in life.

Personal Resiliency Builders

Anger Management

Conflict Management

Feeling Homesick