SINGAPORE – In the years before she found the right fit in her sociology and political science studies, Miss Shira Ong found herself at two crossroads.
After secondary school, she was unsure what she wanted to do, so she applied to a junior college (JC). But two months in, she found it challenging to adapt to the rigour of the curriculum.
After speaking to a teacher, she appealed to transfer to a polytechnic instead, following in the footsteps of her elder sister to study accountancy at Ngee Ann Polytechnic.
It was not an easy decision, as she knew staying in JC would have cost significantly less, and family finances were tight.
But, she reasoned, “if I stayed in JC, I would not have been motivated… At least going to poly, with a poly diploma, I would be able to find work”.
But after starting her poly studies in 2021, she realised she was not interested in accountancy and could not envision herself pursuing it as a career.
Not wanting to incur more time and costs transferring elsewhere, she decided to stay on, study hard and make it to university, where she would choose another specialisation.
“I wanted to get a really good GPA (grade point average) because my goal was to get into uni to try something different,” the 22-year-old said, recalling her mindset then.
Like her sister, Miss Ong took on jobs during her school holidays so she would not have to take an allowance from her parents.
Her father is a part-time packer at a supermarket, and her mother is an administrative clerk. Their CPF covered her poly school fees through the CPF Education Loan Scheme.
