Growing up in Singapore<\/strong><\/p>\nAs a student in Singapore, Dr Tan recounted how he had been \u201creally wanted\u201d to study biology, but had been told on numerous occasions that it was \u201cnot a realistic path\u201d for him, as his grades were supposedly not good enough for the rigours of biology classes.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was forced to take the \u2018easier\u2019 sciences\u2014Physics and Chemistry,\u201d he said, which made the audience laugh.<\/p>\n
Dr Tan received poor grades in these classes, and he added that he had never been given a chance to study something that he was genuinely interested in.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe message I received, directly and indirectly, is that higher education is probably not for me,\u201d he said, adding that when he tried for two years to get into any university in Singapore, he failed both times.<\/p>\n
He then left home, and fortunately, the University of Toronto accepted him, which changed his life. There, he not only attended his first biology class but was also given access to mentors and laboratories.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt gave me a community that allowed me to discover not only what science was, but who I could become through science,\u201d he said, adding that he has often reflected that someone had decided that his future potential was not based on his past performance. And because this person decided to take a chance on him, he ended up in Harvard, arguably the most prestigious university in the world.<\/p>\n
\u201cTalent is everywhere,\u201d said Dr Tan, \u201copportunity is not.\u201d<\/p>\n
He added that future scientists are sitting in classrooms who\u2019ve been told that they\u2019re not good enough to take a class. They may have never met a scientist, or been in a lab, or heard that research is a viable career.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are people with curiosity, creativity, and potential who may never get the chance to show what they can really do unless an institution, a mentor, or a community opens the door for them. I am here because people open the doors for me,\u201d acknowledged Dr Tan, who also expressed the hope that he and his cohort would also, in turn, open doors for others. \/TISG<\/p>\n
Read also: Sengkang residents tell Jamus Lim Singapore\u2019s \u2018unforgiving\u2019 educational system adds to stress of raising children<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n