Taking the Long Road Home
Gary (centre), with his grandmother (left) and auntie At first glance, Gary Lau Hwei is intimidating. He is heavily tattooed from head to toe, has asymmetrical eyes and 1.5cm wide ear lobe piercings. Of course, few would want to approach him. But nobody would expect that he had a perfect GPA of 4.0 for almost every semester in his studies at the Institute of Technical Education East (ITE East). Gary was also a recipient of 12 academic awards, including the prestigious Lee Kuan Yew Model Student Award. What is more remarkable is this young man�s tenacity despite the many trials and tribulations he faced during his younger days. Gary�s parents divorced when he was 3 years old, and he was separated from his two elder sisters, who went to live with their father. His mother had custody of him. Not having a proper father figure in his growing up years was tough enough for young Gary; but he also had to live without much monitoring from his mother who held two jobs due to fin...