Qi Ru has been studying at SSIS for more than a decade. She is currently in Grade 11 and was awarded the SSIS IBDP Excellence Scholarship Award after obtaining 10 A*s for the IGCSE exams last academic year.
“The most important thing that SSIS has taught me is to follow your passion.”
For Qi Ru SOH it has been a long but rewarding journey at SSIS.
“I still remember the first day of school in Grade 1 when I was so nervous but excited at the same time. I am grateful that some of the people who have been with me since primary school are still around.”
During her early years at Senior School, Qi Ru saw some of her close friends being awarded scholarships. This inspired her to work towards getting one herself – and it paid off! This was also her way of thanking her parents for their constant support.
“When I received the email from school telling me that I will be receiving a (scholarship) phone call later in the day, my heart could not stop beating. When I received the phone call, I was so happy and went speechless for a few seconds. I called my mom the next minute and shared the news with my family and friends immediately. I still thought about that moment many days after I discovered the news, and it still felt so unreal and unbelievable.”
Qi Ru’s teachers and school friends inched her towards the scholarship. There were many times she felt like throwing in the towel, but kept reminding herself of her goal to be a scholarship recipient. Studying for exams was not something she was fond of doing, but her tenacity kept her going.
“It doesn’t matter how many sleepless nights you experience while studying, the end will always be worth it if you do not give up. My friends helped me to relax by joking around during a stressful period. Laughing with them during study breaks made the process so much more tolerable. My teachers always believed in me and spent a lot of their time and effort to help us achieve what we wanted.”
The scholarship is not just about financial aid for Qi Ru. It is proof that if you work hard towards your goals, you will see positive results.
“This scholarship showed me that if you don’t achieve your goals, it is only because you haven’t worked hard enough. This scholarship means the effort I’d put in in the previous years has become my motivation to push me even harder in the more rigorous IBDP programme. It is an award that proved perseverance will lead to a sweet ending.”
Don’t Procrastinate
Qi Ru wants her juniors to know that if they need to study, they should start as soon as they can. By having a lot on her plate to juggle, she learned that it was important not to procrastinate in order to have a healthy balance of studying and playing. When she’s socialising with her friends, playing sports or volunteering, she tries to push thoughts of schoolwork to the back of her mind. This makes it easier for her to focus on her studies when it’s time, as she has allowed herself to enjoy some fun time.
“No matter how reluctant I feel to start doing schoolwork, I tell myself it is time to start and dedicate the time to finishing what I have to do. I motivate myself by telling myself that the faster I finish my work, the sooner I get to play!”
Working towards her ambition
“I wasn’t very sure what path I would take after high school, but as I was inspired by my aunt who was a doctor since young, I would probably follow her path and study medicine. I enjoy studying the human body and like hands-on activities, so I can imagine myself being a surgeon and performing operations in the future.”
“I like how my pair of hands would be powerful enough to save a person’s life.”
She plans to apply to universities in Singapore, the US and the UK.
More than teachers
Qi Ru would like to say a huge thank you to all her teachers. Whether it is the knowledge they provided, the comfort they gave her in times of stress, or the life lessons they’ve taught. Without them, she will not be what she is today. Qi Ru’s teachers encouraged her to do what she’s passionate about instead of taking the easy way out.
“They taught me that life is not only about the numbers in your gradebook, but what’s more important are the processes of learning and the knowledge you obtain. I used to think that teachers’ jobs are only to transmit knowledge to students until I met my teachers. I may not say this very often, but I am so appreciative of all the time and effort they spend on us, and their words and actions really influence us in a big way.”
We are proud to see the independent and resilient learner Qi Ru has developed into.
SSIS wishes Qi Ru well in her first year of the IBDP programme!
At SSIS, we aim to develop: Future Global Leaders with Strength of Character & Love for Humanity
