When the going got tougher, he kept going.

His Story

"Things don’t always go your way in life, but if you want it badly enough, you will find a way to make it happen, even if it takes longer."

That’s how Terence managed to work his way from Ngee Ann Polytechnic to Yale-NUS. Life was not always easy for Terence. After completing his National Service a few years ago, he enrolled into a polytechnic despite having the grades to pursue a Degree in University.

“I felt that with a Diploma, I would be able to find a job quicker with the practical skills that I learned,” he explained. At that point, his father had stopped working due to health issues, leaving his mum - a counter staff at National Dental Centre, as the sole breadwinner of the family.

Their predicament took a turn for the better when Terence was named an awardee of the Income OrangeAid Future Development Programme during his second-year of school. By being an awardee, he was grateful for not just the monetary assistance but also the financial literacy training he was given.

“Since attending the financial literacy workshop, I am more aware about budgeting and I think more about what I spend on. For example, if I have $80 for a week, I would consciously make an effort not to spend it all.”

Terence also took on part-time jobs during term breaks to supplement his income. Once as an ad-hoc shopper for Honestbee and also as a relief teacher at a student care centre.

How OrangeAid has helped

Today, Terence is pursuing a liberal arts degree at Yale-NUS College. Even though he is happy with how things have turned out, Terence knows that there will still be challenges ahead. He is, however, not daunted.

“It is important to adopt an optimistic attitude as I believe it will help me get through everything and anything.”

Grateful for his journey and recognizing that he can pay it forward by sharing his experiences with younger people, Terence volunteers at KidAccomplish, an enrichment programme for children, run by Yale-NUS students. The programme offers learning opportunities for youth outside school to encourage them to develop diverse modes of thinking. Children in the programme learn about the heritage of Singapore, cell biology and the history of film-making, amongst others.