5 students receive clan association scholarship to study at Chinese unis

Ms Ong Yun Jie, 19, spent her childhood in China and is still enthralled by her memories of the place. She lived in China for some years till the age of six as her father was working there then.

The Singapore citizen said her parents believed it was important for her to build a foundation in Chinese before she started primary school in Singapore. But she has wanted to study there ever since.

She relived her childhood memories while on a bicultural studies trip to Beijing when she was in Secondary 3 at CHIJ St Nicholas Girls' School. She visited Peking University and attended trial lessons, which made her even more determined to study there.

And now, she will get to do just that. She will read Chinese language and literature at Peking University starting next month.

She will be attending classes remotely, but will be able to go to China when it reopens its borders after the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Eunoia Junior College student is among five recipients of this year's Singapore Federation of Chinese Clan Associations (SFCCA) scholarship. The scholarship was set up in 2011 to help students strong in Chinese to further their studies at top Chinese universities.

Ms Ong was inspired by her father, who taught mathematics and science in secondary schools here, to become a teacher. She had a two-month stint as a teaching intern with the Ministry of Education earlier this year. She hopes to make learning Chinese more fun for the young.

Meanwhile, Ms Cong Yuqing, who will read computer science at Tsinghua University, will be the only one of the five recipients attending classes in person.

Ms Cong, who is a Singapore citizen, was able to secure a visa as her parents are in China. Her mother is a mechanical engineering professor at a university in Beijing and her father works in the semiconductor industry in Shanghai.

A project Ms Cong did at Hwa Chong Junior College drew her to the world of artificial intelligence.

A "maths and science person" from a young age, she hopes to become a university professor.

Ms Cong, 19, grew up seeing her mother interacting with her students and hearing of the impact she had on her students' lives.

Ms Cong has also been an avid dancer since she was a child. It was her dance teacher at Nanyang Girls' High School who sparked her interest in Chinese culture.

Mr Choo Yi Xuan, 21; Ms Vissly Chan Shun Ling, 20; and Ms Yap Ting, 19, are the other scholarship recipients. The scholarships were given out at SFCCA's Toa Payoh headquarters on Thursday.

Mr Choo will study finance and management at Tsinghua, Ms Chan will read politics and public administration at Peking, and Ms Yap will study international politics at Fudan University.

The bond-free scholarship funds up to $15,000 for an academic year, covering school fees, accommodation and living expenses.

SFCCA president Tan Aik Hock said he hopes that the scholarship holders will give back to Singapore when they have completed their studies.