Jonathan Loh

A Leap of Faith

Before I joined MI, I was retained in secondary school, and I also dropped out of Republic Polytechnic. I had always felt that academics was something I would never excel in. It did not help that my friends and family members were generally not supportive when I decided to do a seemingly abrupt switch from a polytechnic course to taking the ‘A’ levels at Millennia Institute. Throughout the three years at MI, it was definitely challenging being 2 to 3 years older than most of my schoolmates, and trying to learn the subjects after a year of a more self-directed mode of learning in polytechnic.

However, I managed to overcome these challenges. I stayed optimistic and motivated to get into a local autonomous university by putting up posters of these universities in my room. I remained humble in asking my friends and teachers for help whenever I needed it. I was also very fortunate to have teachers who showed strong support for me throughout the 3 years in MI. They invested their time to give consultations marked all my extra essays assignments.

I balanced work and studies by making good use of my time to study whenever possible, including during bus journeys from school to home. I knew I would be most alert in the morning before school and in the evening after dinner. As such, I made sure I put in my best efforts to stay focused on my studies during those two time periods. It took a lot of will and self-discipline but I was determined to give nothing but my best throughout the three years. My hard work paid off. Despite being once a retainee and a school dropout, I managed to overcome all challenges to become one of the top A-Level examination scorers in Millennia Institute. This is an achievement that I am very proud of.

I hope my story will continue to inspire fellow Millennians to never give up and stay focused in the pursuit of their goals. Stay disciplined and celebrate the small successes along the way.