Three top students with passion to serve awarded President's Scholarship

Straits Times

a day ago

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SINGAPORE - From championing justice and inspiring young scientists to build a greener, more inclusive home, the three President's Scholarship recipients for 2025 share a common drive – to serve.
Ms Hilary Chee, 18, Ms Clarissa Nguyen, 19, and Mr Kaleb Teo, 19, each turned a personal passion into projects serving the community, which include integrating migrant workers into the larger society, mentoring girls in astronomy and organising programmes for underprivileged families.
They received their scholarship awards from President Tharman Shanmugaratnam at a ceremony held at The Fullerton Hotel on Aug 14. About 70 guests were in attendance, including Defence Minister and Coordinating Minister for Public Services Chan Chun Sing and Mr Tharman's spouse, Ms Jane Ittogi.
While the public sector awards many scholarships each year to promising young Singaporeans, the President's Scholarship is awarded to those whom the Public Service Commission (PSC) assessed to have the most outstanding package of traits, including all-round excellence and leadership potential, said Mr Tharman.
Mr Teo, from Hwa Chong Institution, will be heading to Oxford University. Ms Chee and Ms Nguyen, both from Raffles Institution, will be heading to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University respectively.
In his speech, Mr Tharman stressed that receiving the President's Scholarship is a privilege.
'Don't let it get to your head, or mistake excellence for superiority,' he said. 'The scholarship does not set you for life.'
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What it does, said the President, is put on its recipients an added commitment – to put their every ability into serving the people of Singapore.
The award also comes with the responsibility on scholarship holders to keep developing through the course of their public service careers.
This mean staying informed about new ideas, thinking deeply about alternative options and building relationships with a wide range of people, said Mr Tharman.
'Always look for ways to collaborate with others and build team strengths, both within the public service and with groups in civic society.'
While the Republic has to face today's more profoundly uncertain world as a small island state with no natural resources of its own, Mr Tharman said Singaporeans know the country's future does not depend on what it has, but on its people, its collective aspirations, drive and ability to work together at home and with partners abroad.
On its part, the public service must keep evolving to respond both to external challenges and Singaporeans' changing needs. Its officers must have greater depth of expertise than before, drawing on diverse views, and be prepared to adapt or retire policies that no longer serve the country well, he added.
Yet public policy must also continue to be underpinned by the overarching moral principles that have guided Singapore from the early years till today, said Mr Tharman.
'(This is) the conviction a better society is possible, where every individual and community is equally worthy of respect, and where we only uplift ourselves when we uplift others with us.'