Connecting the dots by Ash

Connecting the dots

What is your best character that got you to where you are now?

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Connecting the dots

good character The goal of education is not to increase the amount of knowledge but to create the possibilities for a child to invent and discover, to create men who are capable of doing new things. - Jean Piaget

between We interviewed eight Singaporeans who showed that their character helped along to get to where they are, along with the support of people around them.

The participants are asked to rate themselves in terms of Leadership, Integrity, Perseverance, Kindness, Reliability and Discipline, and then proceed to tell their stories.

success 5

Result Slip Page: 7 Name Age

: BHAD H. : 28

Occupation

: POLY GRADUATE

Highest Education : DIPLOMA

CHARACTERISTICS

OVERALL SCORE

LEADERSHIP INTEGRITY PERSEVERANCE KINDNESS RELIABILITY DISCIPLINE

Comment

1 1 1 1 1 1

: I was dyslexic in my early years of education. I was not doing well in school to the point where I decided to quit school at the age of 16 and start working to support myself. Only after I finish my national service around the age of 21, a friend of mine motivated me to continue to pursue my studies. I learnt independently and took private N levels. At the age of 23, I pursued Architecture and did exceptionally well in ITE. As of 2018, I just graduated from Polytechnic. I would say that Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m happy now and grateful to get the opportunity to continue and pursue my aspirations.

Best Character: DISCIPLINE

Result Slip Page: 8 Name Age

: ANNIE CHUA : 50

Occupation

: SALESPERSON

Highest Education : N LEVELS

CHARACTERISTICS

OVERALL SCORE

LEADERSHIP INTEGRITY PERSEVERANCE KINDNESS RELIABILITY DISCIPLINE

Comment

1 1 1 1 1 1

:I grew up with a big family, so we all canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t afford to finish our education. When I started working, I only knew a few english phrases. Hence, the job opportunities for m were limited. I worked in a factory assembling computer parts as my first job. I worked there for 8 years. I decided that I want to upgrade my skills by applying for english classes and a basic computer course. As I got the hang of it, I got a job as a sales promoter, with little communication skills. I tried to learn from other colleagues and I got better eventually. 15 years later, another company was impressed with my work ethics and offered me a job as a team leader and a salary that exceeds my expectations. I am glad that I decided to change my life around when I was 30.

Best Character: DETERMINATION

Result Slip Page: 9 Name Age

: JASON LOGANATHAN : 38

Occupation

: HOTEL MANAGER

Highest Education : DEGREE

CHARACTERISTICS

OVERALL SCORE

LEADERSHIP INTEGRITY PERSEVERANCE KINDNESS RELIABILITY DISCIPLINE

Comment

1 1 1 1 1 1

: Eventhough I got my degree in Law and Management when I was 25, I couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t find a job with it. This happens to many university graduates I know. By the time I was 29, I was fed up with the situation I was in. I was angry that my degree was deemed worthless to many law firms I applied for so I tried another pursue instead. I took a two year course in Tourism and Hospitality. It was so much better for me. After an internship, the hotel offered me a full time job and I climbed my career ladder at my own pace.

Best Character: PERSEVERANCE

Take it from the successors Fandi Ahmad’s father was a national goalie for Singapore in the 1960s. In primary school, he showed a keen interest in football as a child, eventually persuading his reluctant father to take him to Malaysia Cup matches and training sessions. At the age of 15, Fandi became a regular for the Singapore Malays team. He was called up for a national training tour of Russia in 1978, becoming the youngest footballer to represent Singapore. Today, Fandi Ahmad is the head coach of the Young Lions in the S.League. He is still regarded as one of the most successful football player in Singapore.

Fandi Ahmad College Dropout Football Coach

Bill Gates enrolled in Lakeside School a private preparatory school. While at that school he took an interest in programming the General Electric system in BASIC and was excused from classes to pursue his interest. Upon graduating from Lakeside Bill enrolled in Harvard University in 1973. He didn’t know what to do, so he enrolled for pre-law. At the end of Bill’s first year, Paul Allen came close to him so that they could follow some of their ideas. That summer they got job in Honeywell. He did well over in Havard, but he wasn’t interested so he left. After leaving school, he almost lost himself from the world of computers. Allen kept on pushing Bill for opening a new software company. Within a year, Bill Gates formed Microsoft.

Bill Gates

Law School Dropout Co-Founder of Microsoft

At a young age, Steve Jobs found himself mesmerised by the power and intricacy of computers. He used to work with his mechanic father in the family garage, taking apart cars and putting them back together. This kick-started his love for machines. As he grew up, Jobs developed a strong distaste for formal education. He never really enjoyed school. Eventually, he went to college but dropped out after the first semester.

Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak were the co-founders of the world’s largest IT company. They started with the ‘blue box’; a digital device that could be used to make long distance calls for free. Its success became their motivation to take on big companies with their inventions which led to the birth of the first ever Apple machine.

College Dropout Co-Founder of Apple

Walt Disney grew up in a poor family where he had to deliver 1300 newspapers a day and his father would take all his money. He had to drop out of high school because his family couldn’t afford it. At the age of 17, he started his lifelong dream, an animation company. However, he couldn’t sell any cartoons. He did not give up until his company went bankrupt. He worked 5 years without an invome in an old garage. He finally found sucess in a short film animation when he was 27, but lost copyright to his own characters. He decided that he wanted to make a feature-length animation. Everyone told him it was a bad idea. It took him three years to make the movie, Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, which is hailed as an animation masterpiece up to this date.

Walt Disney

High School Dropout Founder of Disney

Result Slip Page: 12 Name Age

: SHAIKH ANAPUTRA : 28

Occupation

: MUSICIAN

Highest Education : NITEC

CHARACTERISTICS

OVERALL SCORE

LEADERSHIP INTEGRITY PERSEVERANCE KINDNESS RELIABILITY DISCIPLINE

Comment

2 1 1 3 1 1

:As far as I remember, I found a guitar at the side of the dumpster at the void deck of where my grandparents used to live. I would play it secretly, with no idea what a chord is. My father saw my deep interest to play that beaten up guitar that he decided to surprise me with a brand-new guitar and a basic song book. My father used to play the guitar when I was a toddler. He was the one who taught me how to play the guitar. I fell in love with music and that is all I wanted to do. I wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t really interested in school, so I decided to pursue music. Now, after years of playing music, I had played with a lot of musicians, and I am currently involved with a publishing label as a recording guitarist and playing in a few original bands and artists. You can go far with passion if you work hard for it.

Best Character: CREATIVITY

Result Slip Page: 13 Name Age

: PRIYA : 26

Occupation

: FASHION DESIGNER

Highest Education : DIPLOMA

CHARACTERISTICS

OVERALL SCORE

LEADERSHIP INTEGRITY PERSEVERANCE KINDNESS RELIABILITY DISCIPLINE

Comment

1 1 1 1 1 1

: I had been selling clothes through a blogshop with a friend in secondary school. I was very interested in fashion and styling clothes that I wanted to make my own clothing line. However, I had very strict parents. My father is a lawyer and he had high expectations that I follow his footsteps to become a lawyer too. After my O levels, I told my parents that I wanted to pursue Fashion Design in a polytechnic but they turned down my aspirations and told me I should go take A levels instead. I couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t cope with juggling my studies and my blogshop business. My grades went down and that was when my parents finally agreed that I could go pursue fashion. Since then, I never stop working hard to get what I want and making my parents proud.

Best Character: PASSION

Result Slip Page: 14 Name Age

: CHLOE TAY : 19

Occupation

: STUDENT

Highest Education : O LEVELS

CHARACTERISTICS

OVERALL SCORE

LEADERSHIP INTEGRITY PERSEVERANCE KINDNESS RELIABILITY DISCIPLINE

Comment

1 1 1 1 1 1

:Primary school was easy for me. I got above average marks and never failed a single subject. It all changed when I got into secondary school. Everything was harder and I could’nt cope with the fast paced environment. From being one of the top in primary school to the lowest in secondary school. My parents sent me to intensive tuition classes hoping to bring my graades up but I still couldn’t deliver. I told my parents that it was too much and I was really stressed. I decided to drop to the Normal Academic stream in secondary 3. Right now, I’m in a polytechnic pursuing Early Childhood Education. I want to change the way of teaching kids.

Best Character: AMBITIOUS

Result Slip Page: 15 Name Age

: SEAN LIN : 34

Occupation

: AEROSPACE ENGINEER

CHARACTERISTICS

Highest Education : DIPLOMA

OVERALL SCORE

LEADERSHIP INTEGRITY PERSEVERANCE KINDNESS RELIABILITY DISCIPLINE

Comment

1 1 1 1 1 1

: Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m not good at academics. I was a playful kid and I was a bit slow when it comes to school. After my N levels, i enrolled into Aerospace Engineering. I learn better hands on, so I did very well and proceeded to poly and then to NTU. I was slow at first but once I got the hang of it and found what I like to do, I could do it. I know for sure that I have made my parents proud - that the most important.

Best Character: OPEN MINDEDNESS

Result Slip Page: 16 Name Age

: ASH ALKHATIB : 22

Occupation

: STUDENT

Highest Education : DIPLOMA

CHARACTERISTICS

OVERALL SCORE

LEADERSHIP INTEGRITY PERSEVERANCE KINDNESS RELIABILITY DISCIPLINE

Comment

3 1 1 1 1 2

:I believe that every child learns and grows at their own pace. You shouldn’t compare your children just because they’re slow or being playful. I, myself, only started reading when I was eight. I remember how embarrassing it was not being able to read fluently for my oral exams and not being able to finish my papers. It was only when I found the right teacher to teach me, that I started to progress. I did well for my N levels, but I decided not to continue to take O levels and went to ITE instead. I’m thankful for my parents who supported me in everything I do and seeing my capabilities. Now, I’m chasing my dreams.