Enter to Learn, Leave to Serve –  I truly understand what this means now. Having had the chance to enrol in SJII in 2016, I have not embarked on just an academic exercise, but a holistic educational journey.  

As a student here, I have been offered opportunities to grow in ways which I would have never thought of. The start of my journey began in Loola where I was exposed to the fact that clean piped water and primary education were rare luxuries. My horizons were further widened in Grade 8 where I delivered food for families in Singapore and it dawned upon me that even in modern-day Singapore, there were families who subsisted on only one or two daily meals. The following year, I embarked on the Koh Chruem trip, I witnessed children living in rural Cambodia who were eager to wake up and arrive at school at 6 am when school only started at 7.30 am. Later on, I was given the chance to be part of the Purple Community Fund Project and also hosted one of the scholars our school was sponsoring - Hannah Jane. Not only did I learn more about her and her background in Tondo, but I also learned to find joy in the simplest of things. In 2019, I signed up for the Baan Dada trip. I came to see that there are truly such caring people in this world as the Dadas (the people in-charge of Baan Dada) there were as they were willing to take care of any child and provided them with a safe home. At the same time, I had the privilege to serve their community by providing free eye care support.  

Reflecting back on these trips, I realise how it has been extremely fulfilling to be involved in service as it broadened my perspective and deepened my insight of different people near and far. It was through these unforgettable experiences that I was able to grow into a Lasallian and be stretched in many different ways. 

However, I don't think being a Lasallian is someone who just knows Faith, Service and Community. Being a Lasallian is someone who takes these three core values, embodies and lives them even beyond the school.  Grade 7 at SJII was just the beginning. As I continue my journey in life, I’m constantly inspired to live out these values and at the same time reminded to be kind, caring and gracious to others. It is in giving and serving the community that I become a lot more enriched and fulfilled in life.