MILESTONES
A PASSION TO SERVE
23 Aug 2007
Midshipman (MID) Tan Xinhui has found her calling. In a way, one might say that everything she has done all her life has been leading up to this.
During her schooling days, the 19-year-old spent 10 years in the National Police Cadet Corps (NPCC). In addition, the Hwa Chong Institution alumna is passionate about kayaking.
It is fitting, therefore, that MID Tan, who is looking forward to a career with the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN), is also one of the recipients of this year's SAF Merit Scholarship (SMS).
"I want to lead people," said MID Tan. "I don't want to be confined in the office, doing a desk-bound nine-to-five job."
"With my background in NPCC, I found my calling to join the Singapore Armed Forces to defend my country and to serve the nation."
MID Tan is one of the five female officer cadets receiving the SMS this year. Among the 10 recipients are six officer cadets and four commissioned officers.
Minister for Defence Teo Chee Hean presented the scholars with their certificates and ceremonial swords on 23 Aug.
Also receiving certificates were five Defence Merit Scholarship (DMS) winners.
These 15 scholars were selected from among the top students of the GCE 'A' levels cohort, and they had to undergo a stringent selection process.
Like MID Tan, Second Lieutenant (2LT) Teo Zhi Yang, a platoon commander at the 5th Battalion, Singapore Infantry Regiment, also prefers an unconventional career.
"Serving in the military is meaningful," he said. "It's my duty as a Singaporean to protect what I've come to love."
"If every day is only about going to the office and thinking about how to earn money, then I'd rather have a job that doesn't pay as well as the private sector, but provides far greater meaning and job satisfaction," he added.
The Victoria Junior College alumnus, who will be reading Chemical Engineering in the University of Toronto, is extremely grateful to the SAF for equipping him with values that will help shape his life.
"I have learnt a lot in the Officer Cadet School (OCS)," he said, "In the past, I used to be quite a shy person. Now I apply the leadership skills that I have learnt in OCS, and I believe these leadership skills can bring me through university and life."
Joshua John Seah was among the five DMS winners. Having recently completed his full-time national service, he will be reading Modern History and Politics at Oxford University.
Mr Seah is confident that his chosen specialisations, geopolitics and security issues, will allow him to "achieve much for the organisation".
"Wherever they post me to, I'll give it my best because these opportunities don't come by easily," he said.
During her schooling days, the 19-year-old spent 10 years in the National Police Cadet Corps (NPCC). In addition, the Hwa Chong Institution alumna is passionate about kayaking.
It is fitting, therefore, that MID Tan, who is looking forward to a career with the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN), is also one of the recipients of this year's SAF Merit Scholarship (SMS).
"I want to lead people," said MID Tan. "I don't want to be confined in the office, doing a desk-bound nine-to-five job."
"With my background in NPCC, I found my calling to join the Singapore Armed Forces to defend my country and to serve the nation."
MID Tan is one of the five female officer cadets receiving the SMS this year. Among the 10 recipients are six officer cadets and four commissioned officers.
Minister for Defence Teo Chee Hean presented the scholars with their certificates and ceremonial swords on 23 Aug.
Also receiving certificates were five Defence Merit Scholarship (DMS) winners.
These 15 scholars were selected from among the top students of the GCE 'A' levels cohort, and they had to undergo a stringent selection process.
Like MID Tan, Second Lieutenant (2LT) Teo Zhi Yang, a platoon commander at the 5th Battalion, Singapore Infantry Regiment, also prefers an unconventional career.
"Serving in the military is meaningful," he said. "It's my duty as a Singaporean to protect what I've come to love."
"If every day is only about going to the office and thinking about how to earn money, then I'd rather have a job that doesn't pay as well as the private sector, but provides far greater meaning and job satisfaction," he added.
The Victoria Junior College alumnus, who will be reading Chemical Engineering in the University of Toronto, is extremely grateful to the SAF for equipping him with values that will help shape his life.
"I have learnt a lot in the Officer Cadet School (OCS)," he said, "In the past, I used to be quite a shy person. Now I apply the leadership skills that I have learnt in OCS, and I believe these leadership skills can bring me through university and life."
Joshua John Seah was among the five DMS winners. Having recently completed his full-time national service, he will be reading Modern History and Politics at Oxford University.
Mr Seah is confident that his chosen specialisations, geopolitics and security issues, will allow him to "achieve much for the organisation".
"Wherever they post me to, I'll give it my best because these opportunities don't come by easily," he said.
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