DRIVEN BY A PASSION TO LEARN & SERVE
LOW JUN JIE XAVIER DIPLOMA IN BUSINESS INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY CLASS OF 2019/2020
It is hard to believe that behind the humble, down-to-earth and soft-spoken demeanour of this young man is someone who has achieved so much. Coming into SP with a net GCE ‘O’ Level score of 12 points and unsure of what he wanted to do in life, Xavier capped o his graduation from SP last year as a Model Student, SP Sports & Arts Award recipient, a Halogen Young Leaders’ Award winner, President of the SP Chinese Orchestra, an SP Scholar from Year 1 to 3, an IMDA Gold Medallist and PSC (Engineering) Scholar. Currently a naval serviceman in NS, we asked him how he managed to achieve all this. Replying that interest had a large role to play, Xavier explained that although he was unsure initially about his choice of course, he saw the rising trend towards technology as an enabler. He decided he would try to implement what he was going to learn towards modernising his father’s traditional business. Once he did that, he found meaning and interest in learning, which energised and motivated him and made him want to learn as much as he could. The result of this was that when Covid-19 hit, his dad’s business was fully operational online. On how he came to apply for the PSC (Engineering) Scholarship when he had his heart set initially on a private scholarship, Xavier shared that although his volunteering commitments made him think twice, what convinced him was a book that he read, Singapore, Disrupted: Essays on a Nation at the Crossroads of Change , by Mui Hoong Chua. The book covered the rising tech trend and the unseen side of Singapore and highlighted issues of inequality and the people left behind. It helped him to see things from a dierent perspective and made him realise that although he would be able to help and impact people wherever he was, it was in the public service where he would be able to have the widest reach. His empathetic approach to leadership and service was exemplified during his time with the SP Chinese Orchestra. To date, he still mentors juniors who approach him for guidance. His parting advice to his juniors is to try to find purpose in what they do, and think about the people that they can help. In his own words, “if you can do this, it would help you to see things from a wider perspective and stay motivated, knowing that there are people at the end of the road who would benefit from your help.”
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