The Ceremony
The 15th
of May was a milestone in the history of Republic
Polytechnic as we celebrated the achievements
of our first batch of students in the inaugural awards
ceremony. Amongst the prizes handed out were
those
for academic and co-curricular achievements.
The event was held at IPAM at the Civil Service College.
The guest of honour, Ms Indranee Rajah, MP for Tanjong
Pagar GRC, gave a rousing and inspiring speech about
the need for a different perspective in education
and training. She emphasised on the point that there
is no way for us to learn all the knowledge in the
world, only to be able to learn how to get the right
knowledge at the right time, and to apply that knowledge
in the things that we do.
Principal and CEO of Republic Polytechnic Professor
Low Teck Seng was also there to hand out awards to
students, and our top achiever for the year, Ariff
B Abdul Aziz, gave a humourous and well-received
speech. Ariff has recently been featured in the Today
newspaper with regards to his achievements at The
Republic.
Click here for full list of award recipients
Click on the following links to download their respective speeches
Speech
by GOH Ms Indranee Rajah | Speech
by P/CEO Prof Low Teck Seng | Speech by Top Prize Winner Ariff
B Abdul Aziz
Highlighted Award Winners
ACADEMIC AWARDS
 ARIFF B ABDUL AZIZ
NEIGHBOURHOOD STUDENT TURNS TOP WINNER
> School of Applied Science - Best Student (1st)
> Centre for Innovation & Enterprise People
Management Youth Award Winner
> Centre for Innovation & Enterprise Best
Overall Student
> Best SAS Overall Student - 5th
> Lien Foundation Scholar
The old cliché ‘overcoming all odds’ underpins
the plight of Republic Polytechnic student, Ariff
bin Abdul Aziz, a true survivor of life’s cruel
realities.
Motivated by his family’s challenging economic
situation, this former neighbourhood school student
has surprised everyone, including himself, with
his stellar academic performance, emerging as Top
Student
of his school and winning other awards (listed
above) along the way.
His father braves long nights as a security guard
against ailing health, while his housewife mother
scrimps and saves whatever she can - all to buy
Ariff a future in university. The long hours
of his father’s
job makes family-time an unaffordable luxury.
Fully aware of the sacrifices his family makes
for him, Ariff pours his heart into becoming
a person
they can be proud of. His goal is to get as
much experience as possible at the poly. Hence his
passionate pursuit of co-curricular activities
like the inter-poly
debates, poly forum, the speaking club, the
writing
club, and the Student Ambassadors group.
He does not neglect to help his own peers as
well. Ariff founded and championed for a
Visual Basics
Support group called Computing Help Clinic
which conducts sessions every Saturday to
help students
who are weak in computing applications. He
has been teaching every weekend since it
began last
year.
Eventually, Ariff hopes to pursue biological
sciences at NUS/NTU or even, with the help
of scholarships,
read biomedical sciences in an overseas
university. His secret dream is to return to Republic
Polytechnic as a Facilitator.
In his free time, Ariff enjoys surfing
the Internet and chatting online.
 TEOH QI WEI
NEW LEARNING APPROACH HELPS HIM SUCCEED
> School
of Information & Communications Technology – Best
Overall Student (1st)
> Diploma in IT - 2nd Prize / Top Student
Dissatisfied with the ‘old school’ way
of learning, Teoh Qi Wei sought a brand new perspective
and found it in Republic Polytechnic when he graduated
from Anglican High School in 2003.
After a year in Republic Polytechnic, Qi Wei learnt
that the sheer joy of pursuing knowledge is the real
key to success, instead of merely slaving for good
grades. He went beyond the curriculum to learn about
IT on his own, and surpassed even his own expectations
in schoolwork.
The only child of a housewife and mechanic, his
parents came to Singapore from Malaysia in their
late teens with very little education. This filial
son feels ‘guilty’ seeing his parents
struggle, and realizes the only way to repay them
is by getting good grades.
He discovered the poly’s emphasis on self-directed
learning and working in a team suited him perfectly.
It is the sense of empowerment that spurs him on
to do more, beyond the recommended reading.
Qi Wei is a student leader in the Adventure Learning
Club. Drawing from his experience in the Boys’ Brigade,
he has helped to plan camps in places such as Pulau
Ubin, and upcoming trips to Mt Ophir and Jerangkang
in Pahang.
In his spare time, this young man indulges in a
unique hobby: aqua-scaping.
 CARLICITAS VALERYAN TAN
THINKING OUT OF THE BOX
> School of Engineering
- Best Overall Student (1st)
> Diploma in Electronics Engineering - 1st Prize
/ Top Student
Carlicitas is an Indonesian student who came to
Republic Polytechnic after taking his GCE ‘O’ Levels
in Singapore as a private candidate. He is Vice President
of the poly’s drama group, Create.Republic,
and an active Student Union leader who contributes
in many ways, such as during the poly’s open
house. Besides this, he is also involved in basketball,
the Freshmen Orientation Programme and other student
and academic activities. He is also a Student Ambassador.
Carlicitas feels that the Problem Based Learning
approach at Republic Polytechnic has taught him to
think out of the box, and to approach a problem from
all angles.
 QIAN LINGYAN
INITIATIVE AND ATTITUDE CRITICAL TO SUCCESS
> Most Improved Student
> School of Information & Communications Technology
- Best Overall Student in Diploma in Business Computing
For PRC student Qian Lingyan, the idea of traveling
thousands of miles alone to a strange land to study
was exciting. But her parents were deeply concerned.
With a less than proficient command of the English
language, Lingyan arrived in Republic Polytechnic,
unfazed by all the obstacles she had to face.
She had no one to help her. But she had two things
in her favour - oodles of initiative and a highly
positive attitude. Lingyan decided to learn English
by listening to the local radio stations and
reading a wide range of books. In no time at all,
she no
longer had to struggle to understand her facilitators
during class and was soon scoring better grades
than her Singaporean classmates.
To pay her bills, Lingyan gives private tuition
and works as a part-time waitress four times
a week after
school. If the strenuous long days have taken
a toll on Lingyan, it certainly does not show.
Today, the avid fan of oil painting and classical
music does extremely well in school and still
manages time for CCA. She has interests in
business and
IT, and after graduation, she hopes to land
a job here
as a web designer.
 COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARDS
LI YIJUN
HELPING SPECIAL FRIENDS
Combining community service with pleasure – that
is what soccer fanatic Li Yijun has decided to
do, and to great success. This young man has been
training
the intellectually disabled to play soccer for
the past two years.
He first found out about the Special Olympics committee's
need for volunteer soccer coaches when he was
in Secondary 4. Since then, every Saturday afternoon,
YiJun has been faithfully helping to coach this
team and organising them to play at matches.
After a year of interacting with his special friends,
he has learnt how to communicate with them. He says, "They
are easily distracted by noises, so during a briefing,
I have to constantly remind them to pay attention."
Working with the group gives him a tremendous sense
of satisfaction, and is a way for him to relax and
de-stress. His father supports him fully. Last year,
together with the team, Yijun attended Ireland's
Special Olympic games. This was also Singapore's
first ever national soccer team to make it to the
Special Olympics. Though they did not win anything,
Yijun feels proud of their achievement.
Yijun is a student at the School of Applied Science
and is also a recipient of the Lien Foundation
Bursary.
 LUKMAN HAKIM BIN MUHAMMAD
GIVING FROM THE HEART
Charity, to Lukman, means uncompromising dedication
and generosity of spirit. His deep empathy for the
less fortunate springs from his humble background.
His father passed away 10 years ago and his mum,
who works as a secretary, single-handedly raised
Lukman and his two sisters.
Lukman is passionate about volunteer work. When
others need help, Lukman unquestioningly gives it,
in whatever way he can, and never expects anything
in return. To him, charity knows no racial or religious
boundaries.
The Welfare Secretary of the Student Executive Committee
and founding member of the Service Learning Club,
this young man teaches children every Sunday at Darul
Arqam (Muslim Converts Association). His volunteerism
is not limited to the Malay community. He has collaborated
with other non-Muslim organizations in various charity
projects.
Next month, he is going to Sumatra to build an orphanage
- a joint project by MCDS, Al-Khir Mosque and Mercy
Relief.
Lukman has had to make some sacrifices because of
his passion. He may attend up to 4 meetings a day,
after school, and spends quite a bit on taxi fare
to make sure he arrives punctually for meetings.
He once even took a taxi at 3am to help a friend
in distress!
Lukman is a student at the School of Applied Science.
SPORTS AWARDS
 CHAN BAO SHEN
RP Soccer Captain
Sports Club Event Manager ‘03-‘04
SPORTSMAN OF THE YEAR, MERITORIOUS AWARD (SILVER)
“
I won’t feel comfortable if I don’t perspire.” Chan
Bao Shen is addicted to sports. When he was 10, he
was already playing basketball fearlessly with older
and bigger 16-year-olds. He played competitively
at the tender age of 12 and won zone awards for his
primary school. A bout of asthma set him back in
Sec 1 but did not hold him back for long. He got
back into the groove in Sec 2 and became part of
both the soccer and basketball teams in Queensway
Secondary School, going on to win zone championships.
On top of that, he was recruited into the Tanjong
Pagar Football Club under-16 wing. Now, he captains
Republic Polytechnic’s soccer team and still
manages to be on top of his schoolwork.
He speaks fondly of his mentor and friend, his current
soccer coach. Bao Shen is inspired by the coach’s
professionalism and hopes to become a teacher-cum-soccer
coach like him.
Bao Shen cites S-League player, Tan Kim Leng, as
his role model and benchmark for soccer skills. When
asked why he likes sports so much, he enthused, “It’s
a great way to relieve my stress in work and BGR
problems … better than moping at home!”
 MICHELLE CHANG KIA HUI
SPORTSWOMAN OF THE YEAR, MERITORIOUS AWARD (SILVER)
Sporting sun-kissed hair and a luxurious bronze tan,
Michelle is all smiles when she describes her love
for basketball. As captain of Republic Polytechnic’s
basketball team, she gushes that basketball is all
about the ‘self-challenging’ element,
which she claims is “the adrenaline rush from
the pressure of overcoming every individual opponent” she
faces off in each game.
Michelle’s dream is to be part of the Singapore
National team. She would also like to impart her
keen ball sense to other young people by becoming
a basketball coach or PE teacher.
During her earliest foray into basketball at Navalbase
Primary School, Michelle had already found her
source of inspiration in her then PE teacher
and coach.
To this day, she still returns to Navalbase Pri
Sch to help him coach the younger players.
As current captain of the poly’s female basketball
team, she admits juggling training sessions and schoolwork
can be difficult but emphasizes that with a little
grit, coping well is definitely possible. With whatever
free time she has, Michelle also rockclimbs and swims.
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