SINGAPORE - He lost his hearing due to an illness when he was four, but William Tay has not let this stop him from giving back to the community, and excelling in his studies.

The 22-year-old graduated from the Institute of Technical Education (ITE) College Central with a perfect GPA (Grade Point Average) score last year, and also won the Rotary-ITE Student Excellence Award in August.

He also found time to complete 396 hours of community service, which include conducting an art and crafts workshop for the elderly at King George's Ave Senior Activity Centre, and leading a group of youth in reaching out to the elderly at the Thien Leng Old Folk's Home.

On Thursday, Mr Tay was among some 160 young people who were given the National Youth Achievement Award (NYAA) gold award.

The event at the ITE College Central was attended by President Tony Tan Keng Yam and hosted by Senior Minister of State for Law and Education Indranee Rajah.

The NYAA Programme, which started in 1992, is for young people between 14 and 25 years old. It is a non-formal education programme which includes self-development, exploring the outdoors and projects to benefit the community.