THE GLOBAL LOCAL

Having lived abroad for more than half of his 20 years, Corporal (CPL) Niall Yang Sohan is an intriguing mash-up of east-meets-west.

Following his diplomat dad around the world, he has lived in Jakarta (Indonesia), Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) and San Francisco (United States).

He is now doing his National Service (NS) as a military policeman (MP). As an MP, he does anti-riot training, conducts spot-checks and is part of parades for visiting dignitaries. "One of the things that NS has taught me is to persevere - you have to put effort into something to see it through, for it to bear fruit."

"My dad served NS in the Signals Formation. His stories about NS always made it out to be very tough. If anything, those stories only psyched me up for a challenge."

Not like he shies away from difficulties. He speaks three languages - English, French and German - and is learning a fourth (Russian).

He makes it a point to pore over Russian texts for at least two hours every Sunday and maintain his fluency in French and German. And did we mention that he is also an accomplished classical pianist?

His next challenge is to read Economics at Stanford University in the US. And after that? "I'll go to grad school. Beyond that I will take what fate gives me and play it by ear."