So declares Johnson Seow Yong Sheng from TP, School of Applied Science. His life story is one that will inspire students who are struggling financially just like him.
Hailing from Greenview Secondary, Johnson came to TP with 15 points and enrolled in Diploma in Chemical Engineering after spending one year in a junior college. The practical young man foresaw that he would not do well and opted to cut his losses and pursue a tertiary education instead.
Johnson’s family was already in a sticky financial situation when his father’s renovation business failed before he came to TP. With an uneducated mother who could not find a job and two younger sisters, his father sold their flat in Pasir Ris to pay back creditors and took on odd jobs to support the family. Home was whatever the family could afford to rent. However, his father suffered a stroke when Johnson was a freshman and was in a coma for three months. Family finances took a downward spiral. Even worse, his father has been bedridden since the stroke, suffering from amnesia when he emerged from his coma.
“Overnight, my family lost our breadwinner. My mother has to take care of my bedridden father. My uncle helps support my family financially, but he also has his own family to take care of. I knew I had to take care of my own financial needs.”
Johnson started to give tuition on weekdays and worked at a satay stall on weekends at his father’s friend’s stall in a coffeeshop. By then, they had defaulted on rental payments and sometimes came home to find themselves locked out. Johnson took the lead to look for other housing options, writing to HDB for help. As he did not want wait too long for HDB to reply, Johnson finally mustered enough courage to email the Prime Minister. Slightly more than a month later, his family was able to rent a 1-room flat in Boon Lay.
Staying so far away from school presented a different kind of challenge for Johnson. By the time he finished work and got home to tackle his homework and projects, the young man would climb into bed nightly at 2AM. However, not only did he not submit his assignments or projects late, he usually submitted them earlier!
Some days, he would have no money to take the bus to school from Bedok MRT – he would then walk the rest of the journey.
“It was tough-going. I had to wake at 6AM daily to go to school, give tuition, finish my assignments and get enough rest ,” said Johnson. “Without the encouragement and help of my lecturers, I would have given up a long time ago!”
Over his 3 years in TP, besides arranging for part-time jobs on campus, his lecturers also pointed Johnson to various financial schemes to help the young man pay for his education. Together with hard work and an unceasing fighting spirit, Johnson graduated with a Diploma in Chemical Engineering with Merit, scoring 3.81 for his GPA. He was even awarded a Mitsui Phenols Singapore Prize (Best student of the subject Chemical Reaction Engineering)! He was offered places in NUS and NTU, and has accepted the latter to study Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering. He hopes to secure a scholarship to help finance his university education.
Johnson has plans to work after completing university to gain work experience. Ultimately, he aspires to be a teacher and hopes to encourage students who, like him, are struggling financially to get through school. “I do want to teach at a tertiary institute eventually.” He also feels heartened that despite the hardship, his school-going sisters recognise that education is important and are doing well in school.
Johnson likens life to a storybook. “Behind every chapter of success, there are many chapters of failures and obstacles,” said the mature young man who will enlist National Service in August this year. “However, always look on the bright side – as long as you’re breathing, you’re still winning. Don’t give up hope!”