Ian Tham ‘21: Not a zero-sum game

IAN THAM ‘21

NOT A ZERO-SUM GAME

Ian graduated from SJI International in 2021, winning The Leadership Council Shield for Academic Excellence and the Academic Prize for History. In this interview, he shares more about his enriching International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme years, his most significant takeaways from an SJI International education, as well as his future plans and aspirations.

You were recognised for your excellence in your studies, but beyond academics, what was something that you worked on in school that you are proud of?

One of my proudest achievements was my involvement in History mentoring for IGCSE students. Despite being put on hold due to COVID-19 restrictions, I still managed to hold virtual meetings with my mentees to go through content and material for their exams. I was also extremely privileged to hold a lunchtime talk for Grade 11 IB History students about strategies for time management and success in the course. These opportunities profoundly resonated with me, and I found it very meaningful to be able to share my passion and experiences with those whose positions I could relate to.

During IB, how were you able to balance your passions and academics, while also giving back to your community through service?

While it may seem cliche, getting your work done early before deadlines and planning your time is the most efficacious strategy to avoid being swamped by assignments, pertinently during bottleneck periods in early-mid Grade 12. This gave me plentiful breathing room during deadlines to properly refine my work and submit things that I was truly proud of. As for balancing academics with my passions, this was challenging, but my advice would be to slot leisure time when you aren’t busy studying, for example, my basketball training was Friday mornings when I would not be studying anyway. Moreover, I made an effort to regulate myself and create “no-study” times, I made sure not to study any day past 10 pm and always kept Friday afternoons for exercise. Trusting in the work that you’ve put in already will help you be more confident and avoid studying too much, burning out by repeating the same course material. Aside from that, my most valuable resources were my peers, teachers and senior mentors with whom I shared countless drafts and were an excellent source of ideas and notes. I was very fortunate to be able to take advantage of other successful seniors and learn from their expertise while collaborating with good achievers at my own year level. Even more importantly, I was not hesitant to reach out to my teachers regularly to refine my assignments and tap into their experience and knowledge. They were more than willing to help me, and I am very grateful for their tireless help and patience, truly invested in my work and success.

What is your most significant takeaway from an SJI International education?

Taking ownership of your education and focusing on consistency are the two main lessons I’ve learnt from my time at SJI International. I was very fortunate to surround myself with a group of like-minded friends who kept me accountable and ensured that we were always on the right track. Importantly, I’ve learnt that academics is not a zero-sum game, our culture in Singapore has prided itself in fierce competition and individualism however, I’ve realised that when taking international exams like the IGCSE and IB Diploma Programme, our schoolmates’ relative success to ours doesn’t have a large impact on our final individual result. Students should share resources for a more fulfilling experience.

What are your aspirations and goals in the near future?

I hope to study law in the UK after completing my National Service, so I’ll be busy preparing and reading for my interview, personal statement and LNAT test. While doing so, I hope to continue to involve myself in the SJI International community, mainly as a mentor to some of my juniors taking the IB Diploma Programme and helping them out with their academics. As for a career path, I hope that obtaining a law degree will open up wider opportunities in finance or law, of which I am still undecided. I hope to continue nurturing my passion for History and engage in further reading to keep myself sharp outside of an academic environment.