Gratitude to society, compassion for fringe groups motivate scholars
SINGAPORE — She was disappointed when she lost the table-tennis finals on home ground during the 2010 Youth Olympic Games. But Isabelle Li’s mood changed entirely when she saw the whole stadium stand up and wave their Singapore flags.
“I felt a sense of gratitude, and that whole experience is still imprinted in my heart,” said the 20-year-old.
The support that the table-tennis player has received since she started representing Singapore at the age of 12 made her want to give back to society.
Now, Ms Li will have a chance to do just that. As the first Republic Polytechnic graduate to be awarded the PSC scholarship, she will join the Public Service upon graduation.
Ms Li, whose interest in policymaking was sparked by solving problems in economics, accounting and management that she took in the polytechnic, will pursue liberal arts at Yale-NUS College in Singapore.
For Mr Lee Kay Howe, it was a compassion for “people who fall through the cracks” that drew him to the Public Service.
“General perspectives against foreign workers and people with mental illnesses are not great in our society,” noted the 19-year-old former student of Anglo-Chinese School (Independent). “But these fringe groups have a part in our society and deserve to be treated better.”
Mr Lee said his own perspective on foreign workers changed when he helped organise first-aid clinics for them.
For example, he found that foreign construction workers “have a lot of pride in the buildings they build”.
Mr Lee hopes to keep the concerns of these “fringe groups” in mind when helping make public policies in the future.
