Wednesday, July 25, 2012

The MetroDBITan student Series : Issue #003 – Cherie Leong

 

Howdy DBITans!

It’s been two weeks since we released the last feature write-up for Soh Weihao, third year DBIT student.  Before that, we also featured another third-year student, Tan Shi Hui.

Well, enough of the third year ‘big brother’ and ‘big sister’, it’s time to show off our second year students, don’t you think so! :)

This week, let’s zoom in on our year 2 student, long-haired Cherie Leong, who looks as sweet as her name.

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Cherie, tell us some stuffs about your childhood please?

SchoolhistoryI studied in a neighbourhood primary school, Blangah Rise Primary School. There are a lot of memorable moments I had there and also a wake up call for me.

Why do I say that it's a wake up call for me? It is when I received my PSLE results.

 

I got a score of 167, which I could not get into the express streams and also normal academic streams in many schools.

I was full of regret and felt very angry with myself as I know I was in that predicament because I did not put in much effort to study for my PSLE. It was a hurting but enlightening moment for me when I received the results from my teacher as I saw all my friends holding their exam results and smiling broadly as there are able to get into to express stream.

So I chose Henderson Secondary School and I got in. When I entered that school, I set myself a target which is leaving the school with no regrets anymore.

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I entered the school and studied really very hard. Usually most of the secondary school kids will hang out with their friends after school. But for me is different, everyday after school, I will get home straight away and start my revision so that I will be able to perform well in my exams.

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Concert Band

I joined the concert band so as to relieve stress and also to pick up new skills.

The people there are really friendly and I enjoyed it. I played the percussion instruments. I've performed in many concerts and also joined many competitions.

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There was once when my school brought us to Hong Kong and to perform in the Disneyland there. It was a joyous and exciting trip. Not only did we performed in the Disneyland, we also studied physics in the Disneyland. That trip was really and eye-opener trip where by I'm able to gain exposure, knowledge and also experience from there.

Setbacks during the ‘N’ and ‘O’ levels

Life had been smooth for me throughout my secondary school life except for the year when I seat for my N Levels and also the year when I set for my O Levels.

My first setback - ‘N’ levels

During my N levels year, when it's close to my preliminary examinations , my grandfather passed away. He and my grandmother are the one that I'm closest to, even more than my parents as they are the ones who took care of us when my parents are away for work.  So we have a very strong relationship.

I was really upset at that period of time but I told myself I have to stop being upset and must not let it affect my studies. Soon, as time went by,  I felt better and not so upset.

I continued to work hard and strived for the best in my studies. When I got back my N level results, although its not the most satisfactory but I know that I've already put in a lot of effort so it did not matter.  Most important, I was able to proceed to Secondary 5 to complete my O levels!

My second setback –  family

My secondary 5 life was awesome! The teachers there are really helpful. Knowing that there is a big gap for students from the normal academic to take the ‘O’ level papers, the teachers there would fork out their own time just to stay in school until late night to give us consultations.

During the period my preliminary exams, my parents divorced. My mum left the house. It was really heart aching to see someone who is really close to you to leave you especially your own parents.

Life was never easy since then, my father have to go overseas to work so as to support the family financially.

Thank god, I have a mature sister who is there to guide me and help me through. No matter whatever difficulties I face, she will always be there to guide me and help me.

I still remembered what my sister told me at that point of time - You don't work hard to show others but to have a better future.

The teachers in my school are very supportive,after they knew what happened, they would always try to help me in whatever they can and I'm really grateful for that.

My third setback – my English

After I got back my preliminary results, my English grade was terrible. I only managed to score C6 for my English. There was this system in my school whereby any students who failed their English preliminary exams they will be assigned to one English teacher to have intensive training for the students.

As we all know English is very important, in order to get into polytechnic, we have to pass our mathematics and English. Having a just pass grade for English really worried me, so what I did was to seek help from my friend's assigned English teacher, Miss Lye.

She agreed to help me for my English but I have to do my part as a student. Every week I will finish 2 essays and 1 English paper and she would mark for me and go through my mistakes with me.

She is really a nice teacher, she would always stay back in school until very late at night and gave us consultations. I still remember, one day before our English ‘O’ level paper she even met up with us at Great World City Shopping Center at Burger King just to give us consultation as it was a Sunday so the school was not open.

With the help of my teachers in my school I managed to pass all my subjects and scored 16 points for L1R4.  After deducting my CCA points I got an effective L1R4 grade of 14!

Actually I wanted to get into business courses in both Ngee Ann Polytechnic and Singapore Polytechnic but with my grades I could not get a place in those courses, so I chose DBIT which I never regret entering as it grooms us in both the prospects of business as well as information technology.


Wow, your academic path has certainly not been easy!  So what advice do you have for your juniors who may also be walking this difficult path as you have done before?

I have never been performing well when I'm young but my determinations brought me to where I am today.

No matter whatever difficulties I face I was very determined to get over it and also I will always tell myself that all these difficulties will mould me into a better person and prepare me for other obstacles that I will be facing in my life.

Thus, I would advise my juniors to persevere in spite of difficulties as obstacles make us stronger.


Tell us the things you enjoy doing, Cherie

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I enjoyed spending quality time and quantity time with my family and friends especially my grandmother. I enjoyed picking up new skills so as to constantly upgrading myself.

 

During my holidays, I will always look for part time job so as to build my resume, acquire new skills and to earn some money so that I can save.

I will always look for different jobs so as to pick up new skills in different areas. From being an administrative staff in SGX to being a dental assistant and stuff like these.

I know having a good resume really helps a lot for our future. In all these part time jobs I will be able to pick up new skills and also allowing me to have a clearer view on which type of job I really want to work and start to plan out the path for my future and work towards it.


What is your favourite food?

Mcdonalds

I enjoy eating fast food especially Macdonalds, thus i always have outbreaks on my face!

I enjoy eating buffets, so I will always meet up my secondary school clique and have buffet dinner at least once during school holiday.

I enjoy eating seafood especially crabs.


Name three things or people that inspire you

My sister inspires me a lot I just want to be like her. She is really very hardworking and always do her best in everything she do. I want to be like her being able to get a good GPA in polytechnic and proceed to local university. As going into a private university will be costly and I do not come from a well-off family so it would be hard for me to get into a private university. She always set high targets for herself and will try her best to be able to attain that target.

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My dream house which I want it to be very luxurious and big. This will motivate me to study very hard and be consistent in my work as I want to do well academically in Singapore polytechnic. I would be motivated to do well for every semester in poly and I want to graduate from Singapore polytechnic with a good GPA which will give me an opportunity to enter university to further my studies. I would be able to have this dream house after having a successful career with my attained education.

Another person that inspires me is Minister Mentor Mr Lee Kuan Yew as he is a the man that led Singapore to become a successful first world nation now. MM lee inspires me as he as a leader of Singapore and he had a vision for Singapore. With his vision, he worked towards the goal he set for Singapore and made it happen. I want to be like MM Lee and to have a vision for the future and to work towards it to fulfil my dreams and goals. Even though I can't contribute as much as MM Lee to the society, I would strive to do my best to contribute as much as I can as an individual in the coming future.


Have you travelled anywhere before? If so, which countries have you been? Which country do you like most? And why?

I've travelled to Hong Kong with my secondary school band for an exchange programme with one if a government school in Hong Kong. I love the vibrant city life there and the people there are very warm and caring. However, the environment has a high level of air pollution.

Why did you choose DBIT? And what do you hope to gain from this course?

I want to learn and look into both aspects of business as well as of IT.

What are your favourite modules in SP? Name something that you really enjoy learning and something you wished was taught, but was not taught.

My favourite module is Social Media Marketing (SMM).  I enjoyed SMM as I got to experience and learn how to be a social media marketer, which I feel is very enriching and interesting.  I really enjoyed using social media to market the company my group had chosen.  I wished that we were taught the basic forms of marketing other than using social media, as it would truly widen my sight of marketing as a business IT student.

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Please share some pictures of your past projects / assignments

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What is your ambition in life? What do you see are the steps you need to take in order to realise your dreams?

I have always wanted to become an air stewardess in Singapore Airlines. To realise my dream, I will have to study hard to get a good GPA as well develop good communication skills.

sia


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