Going the distance: NUS athletes scoop up medals and degrees

Going the distance: NUS athletes scoop up medals and degrees

No matter the sport, being a competitive athlete is an exhilarating journey that can push you to your emotional, mental, and physical limits.

Now, imagine going through all this while studying for a degree. Three student athletes who are graduating from NUS in July 2024 did just that, rising admirably to the challenge of balancing training, schoolwork, and competitions.

Jerome Teo Sze Yong:Finding his rhythm

Dancer Jerome Teo Sze Yong excels at displaying grace under pressure. At NUS, he was a national DanceSport athlete, President of Tembusu College's Students' Committee, and a double-degree major in Electrical Engineering and Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) at the NUS College of Design and Engineeringand NUS Faculty of Arts and Social Sciencesrespectively. In both student life and competitive ballroom dancing, this was his key secret: keeping perfect time.

"I tried to balance everything by knowing my priorities for each day, week and month," said Jerome, 26, noting the importance of time management.

With dates of competitions confirmed months in advance, Jerome could dance to the beat of his schedule. "When am I a student? When am I an athlete? Most of the time, the situation was not binary," he said.

Sometimes he needed to spend more time in the ballroom, while sometimes the lecture notes waiting to be reviewed required his immediate attention.

Juggling a packed schedule, Jerome had to navigate purposefully. When he went for dance practice, he set out to accomplish specific objectives, such as working on smaller sections of a routine, building stamina, or honing fundamental techniques.

When he ran into scheduling issues which simple time management could not solve, NUS swooped in to help. In his freshman year in 2019, Jerome and his dance partner - his younger sister, Rachel Teo Jia Hui, who was also an NUS student - represented Singapore at the Southeast Asian Games. They won a silver and two bronze medals, but Jerome missed his end-of-semester exams.

"I wanted to make sure I could pass the modules and not have to retake them the next semester," he recalled. "NUS was very supportive to make alternative arrangements, like make-up examinations at the start of the next semester."

Jerome is taking a hiatus from DanceSport, and he is now working as a digital design engineer, designing hardware for Internet of Things (IoT) devices, such as smart home devices and smart lighting. "At any point in time, if I want to resume dancing, I can always return to it," he added.

On 17 July 2024, Jerome will be graduating with Bachelor of Engineering (Electrical Engineering) with Honours (Highest Distinction) and on 19 July 2024, he will receive a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy, Politics and Economics with Honours (Highest Distinction).

Kok Hui Wen: Riding the waves

The most important thing about sports, said former competitive canoeist Kok Hui Wen, is to enjoy what you do. "As much as training is serious, it should be fun as well. It should fill you up," she remarked.

This was what drove the water sports enthusiast, who studied Nursing with a second major in Public Health, to join NUS Canoeing and also surf in her own time.

Hui Wen, who started competitive canoeing in junior college, credits the sport for developing her resilience and self-assurance. "It gave me the confidence to know that whatever hardships I am facing now, I have what it takes to overcome it," the 23-year-old said.

These qualities proved to be invaluable during her clinical postings as an NUS Nursingstudent. The first two years of Nursing studies were not easy for Hui Wen as she delved deeper into the complexity of the Nursing profession. The resilience that she developed from canoeing, her trust in her mentors, and the reassurance that she would eventually find her own footing in Nursing helped her navigate the period of uncertainty. "I am sure there's a place in Nursing for me and I could value-add to healthcare in my own special way," she reflected.

Keen to apply her healthcare knowledge to benefit the community, Hui Wen took on the role of Programme Head for Project Barrios, a nursing-led project that focused on providing health education for overseas and local communities. Initiated as an overseas Community Involvement Project, Hui Wen and her team restructured the project to serve underserved local communities during the COVID-19 period. They ran education programmes for the elderly, migrant workers and underprivileged children to raise awareness of common health ailments specific to each group and educate them on the prevention, early detection and community resources to mitigate these health risks.

The Nursing programme's hybrid learning approach, with a mix of online tutorials and lectures as well as in-person classes, made it easier for her to fit canoeing and surfing into her schedule. During the semester, Hui Wen would sometimes travel to Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Sri Lanka to ride the waves.

She has retired from canoeing, but still does recreational water sports such as surfing. For now, she is looking forward to starting her new job as a nurse at the National University Hospital.

Hui Wen will be graduating on 14 July 2024 with a Bachelor of Science (Nursing) with Honours (Highest Distinction).

Toh Wei Soong: Diving into the deep end

National para-swimmer Toh Wei Soong pulled off a stunning victory at the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Para Games, scooping up gold medals in backstroke, freestyle, and butterfly. But the competitions were not his only race against the clock.

Then a PPE undergraduate at NUS, he had spent the previous few years juggling classes and assignments on top of a gruelling training schedule for international competitions, including the Tokyo 2020 Summer Paralympic Games.

It was not easy. Wei Soong - who has Transverse Myelitis, a rare neurological condition affecting his lower spinal cord - had to take Leave of Absence to make time for swimming, and he also chose classes that best suited his training and competition schedule.

His passion for philosophy and interest in PPE since secondary school were what kept him going, said Wei Soong, who penned an Honours thesis on "A Wittgensteinian Solution to Vagueness", and helped set up an undergraduate student academic journal for Philosophy - The Red Stone- during his time asDeputy Director for Publications for the Republic, a PPE undergraduate journal.

"I am very glad these journals are continuing to serve our communities, and giving students opportunities to learn how the publishing system works and to commemorate the best student essays from each semester," noted the 25-year-old graduate of NUS Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences and NUS College.

As a PPE student, Wei Soong enjoyed interacting with his peers on complex and broad-ranging topics during class. "Overall, I did have a lot of fun in my undergraduate degree and a lot of fun in learning the subjects," he mused.

After more than a decade as a student athlete, Wei Soong, who is gearing up for the Paris 2024 Summer Paralympic Games, will be focusing on swimming and savouring life as a full-time athlete.

On 19 July 2024, Wei Soong will be graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy, Politics and Economics with Honours (Merit).

This story is part of NUS News' coverage of Commencement 2024, which celebrates the achievements of our graduates from the Class of 2024. For more on Commencement, read our stories and graduate profiles, check out the official Commencement website, or look up and tag #NUS2024 on our social media channels!