Teachers put 22-year-old on the right path to pass A-Levels

SINGAPORE — Mr Lee Yann Yih had a rocky start to his post-secondary education: He could not adapt to school life, had no guidance, and gave up on his studies easily.

At 16, the only child of a technician and housewife left Anglo-Chinese Junior College in 2012 because of stress as well as misunderstandings with his peers.

In April 2013, after nearly a year of trying to “find” himself and considering what he wanted to do in life, he signed up for a diploma in psychology at Temasek Polytechnic. He had difficulty adjusting to campus life and had less-than-desirable grades. He also decided by then that he did not want to pursue a career in psychology, so he left after one semester.

Then in 2014, he joined Millennia Institute because he had “no choice”, but finally found his footing there unexpectedly. During the three years there, he became a student leader and president of the school’s Library Club.

He recalled that the turning point came during his first year, when he interacted with his teachers and told them about his struggles. In one instance, the teacher-in-charge of the Library Club told him: “If you are a piece of gold, no matter where you end up, you will still shine as brightly.”

After collecting his A-Level results on Friday (Feb 24), the 22-year-old said: “That line helped me realise that I have a lot of potential. It is never about the environment that I am in, but whether I want to do something about the situation … (and) I will be able to overcome the situation and challenges.”

His other teachers also told him that his life was in his hands, that he could continue to waste it by doing nothing, or by taking charge and doing something. “It made me feel like I (could not) just continue to change schools, or continue to drift,” he said.

Entering Millennia Institute as one of the older students of his cohort, Mr Lee said that initially, he hid his real age from some of his peers. Then, word got around and he had to come clean. When that happened, he found his peers were very understanding. “They empathised with my situation, and now we are more open with each other,” he said.

Being an older student also meant that his younger peers would go to him for advice frequently. “I think they see me as more mature,” he joked.

Mr Lee now hopes to study accountancy in university. To students who are going through struggles like he did, he said: “Even though I made multiple blunders (by changing schools), but at the end of the day, I still made it. What matters is not how many times you make a mistake, but how you can come back from those mistakes you have made.”