For young racing champion Alex Brown, the pursuit of excellence has no finish line.   

The Singapore Permanent Resident’s racing career took off ten years ago. Now at 18 with five championship titles under his belt, he’s showing no signs of slowing down, both on and off the race track. 

For young racing champion Alex Brown, the pursuit of excellence has no finish line.   

The Singapore Permanent Resident’s racing career took off ten years ago. Now at 18 with five championship titles under his belt, he’s showing no signs of slowing down, both on and off the race track. 

For starters, he graduated as the ‘Josephian of the Year’ in 2021 – the highest honour given to a student at SJI International – and scored the highest marks at the IB examinations held in November. 

This is certainly no mean feat, excelling in academics while balancing his passions, which go beyond racing. 

As an SJI International Elementary School student, Alex joined the school’s Robotics CCA out of interest in STEM. Moving up to high school, he led Robotics Unbound, providing free introductory robotics and programming workshops to young children at SJI International Elementary School and through partnerships with local organisations like The Salvation Army, TOUCH, and MENDAKI. 

“I was determined to help these young students also potentially find passions in robotics or STEM learning as well as develop crucial skills such as communication and problem-solving,” said Alex. 

In 2019 he co-founded XS News, a platform that condenses global affairs and complex issues into palatable forms for Gen Zs. The project was in response to the influx of fake news on the internet and to help his peers keep up-to-date with current affairs without going through articles full of jargon. 

“We felt that this is especially pertinent in the current context of the pandemic, as it is important for people our age to stay informed about the global situation and its wider implications as well as not be influenced by fake news. Our bite-sized content aims to retain people’s attention whilst still allowing people to stay updated,” he shared. 

XS News won the Young Founders Summit 2019 in Peking University, Beijing, receiving monetary backing of US$10,000 and mentorship from Founders Bootcamp, the world’s most extensive start up program for teenagers, to help them with this initiative. 

The project runs on Instagram as its main platform, amassing over 2,200 followers as of writing. Alex and his co-founders Marcho and Kai-Ryn – all SJI International alumni – have grown their team to include students from around the world. 

He indeed has a long list of passion projects, as he also serves as the Digital and Innovations Director for The BAUM Movement, another SJI International alumni-led initiative educating Gen Zs on sustainable investing. 

“Knowing that I was supported and kept up-to-date by my teachers gave me the freedom and confidence to explore my passions despite the workload of the IB Diploma Programme. I am truly grateful for all the teachers that mentored and supported me throughout my time at SJI International,” he said. 

Over the next year and a half, Alex will fulfil his National Service (NS) duties for the Singapore Civil Defence Force. 

“During this time, I hope to continue growing these projects. After NS, I aim to study engineering at university while also continuing (to participate) in some forms of car racing championships overseas. This allows me not only to continue pursuing my passion for motor racing but also advance my knowledge of the practical application of engineering that I learnt at SJI International.”