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Showing posts with the label ITE

From Poor Grades to Institutional Medalist

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Despite taking a longer route than usual, Prabhmeet Kaur persevered and her efforts have rewarded her with the 2016 Tay Eng Soon Award for ITE Upgrader. Source: The Straits Times @ Singapore Press Holdings Limited. Permission required for reproduction Confident and articulate, one will not be able to tell that Prabhmeet Kaur, the 2016 School of Business Management Valedictorian once struggled with poor grades in her in secondary school. The 24-year-old alumna failed maths twice during her �O� levels and could not apply to a polytechnic. She eventually enrolled in the Institute of Technical Education (ITE) in a biotech course, a "practical" choice because of her interest in science. However, she discovered she did not like the laboratory environment, and instead found a passion for writing and public speaking as a student ambassador at school events. Prabhmeet subsequently applied through the Special Direct Admissions Exercise to NYP�s Diploma in Mass Media Management course a...

Taking the Long Road Home

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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...