I was in Primary 4 at Gongshang Primary School when my father was concerned about my failing my subjects. Although I was studying hard my efforts didn’t seem to be having any effect on my grades. So, my father took me to the Dyslexia Association of Singapore (DAS), where I was diagnosed with dyslexia. I was with DAS for 2 years and with their support, I was able to pass my PSLE with a score of 108/300 achieving a Good Progress Award and a Best in Mother Tongue Award too! I was able to move on to Secondary School and I attended Greenview Secondary School as a Normal Technical Student.
In Greenview Secondary School, I was also diagnosed with a medical condition of an abnormal heartbeat and an anxiety disorder. My dyslexia also meant that I was slow in processing the information as compared to my peers. Eventually, through hard work and perseverance, I was able to overcome these difficulties and became a GCE Top ‘NT’ Student at Greenview Secondary School on graduation.
On leaving secondary school in 2014 I went on to pursue my academic studies at ITE College Central undertaking the “Nitec in Aerospace Technology” course from 2015 to 2016 and was able to secure a CGPA of 3.6/4.0. At ITE I found that my dyslexia still impacting my processing speed and my ability to understand concepts, however, again, I put in the effort to ensure that I passed my courses. The Nitec in Aerospace Technology was a great “hands-on” course, I was able to visualise concepts easily and the theory was less.
After graduating from ITE, I moved to Nanyang Polytechnic studying for the Diploma in Digital and Precision Engineering from 2017 to 2021 and was able to secure a CGPA of 3.46/4.00.
Even though I was struggling during my academic years at Nanyang Polytechnic I still felt capable of passing this course by putting in the hard work required to get my assignments and exams done. I was still having issues of anxiety about my study and the amount of effort that I needed to put in to pass my courses. I was lucky enough to have supportive classmates who helped me out when I fell behind in my work. Hard work pays off, I was placed on the Directors List Awards for my second year of academic studies for being among the top 15% in the cohort and graduated in May 2021 with enough points to be accepted into a Mechanical Engineering Degree.
I have now enrolled at university, something that I am very proud of. I am studying Mechanical Engineering at Singapore Institute of Technology in a joint award with the University of Glasgow. Although I haven’t informed the university about my dyslexia this course is most important to me so I will reveal to them that I take a longer time to process information and I will also ask for support when I need it.
Dyslexia has not been a barrier to my learning and I believe my perseverance and tenacity to put in the hard work has helped me to get where I am today.
