From dropout to director’s roll: Republic Poly graduate earns top honours in 2nd poly stint
The TL;DR: Mr Levan Lim Yong Han was a poly dropout when he enrolled in Republic Polytechnic to chase a second chance. Against his own expectations, he received multiple academic accolades and was offered a scholarship to NTU after studying for a diploma in business. He was one of more than 4,500 young men and women from 79 diploma programmes who graduated from the polytechnic in May.
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
Mr Levan Lim Yong Han achieved a perfect grade point average of 4 in the first semester of his business diploma course at RP.
PHOTO: REPUBLIC POLYTECHNIC
SINGAPORE – Mr Levan Lim Yong Han enrolled in Republic Polytechnic (RP) in 2022 to study business, but he did not entertain high hopes about his academic performance. After all, he had dropped out of poly in his first attempt, having obtained very poor grades for most of his modules.
Said the now 26-year-old: “I was fresh out of (national service). My main aim was to learn as much as I could and graduate with a diploma this time.”
To his surprise, he achieved a perfect grade point average (GPA) of 4 in the first semester of his business diploma course at RP, scoring straight As.
“It came as a complete shock to me,” he said. “I felt like since I had done well, I should try my best to maintain (my GPA) for as long as possible.”
Mr Lim not only maintained it, but graduated with several academic awards, including several director’s roll of honour awards, reserved for the top 10 per cent of each cohort.
He has also been offered a scholarship to attend NTU and pursue a double degree in accountancy and business.
Mr Lim is one of more than 4,500 students across 79 diploma programmes who graduated from RP between May 2 and 8.
In 2016, he had entered Singapore Polytechnic to study chemical engineering. “I didn’t have any interest in the course,” he said. “I chose it only because I did well in science during my O levels.”
His lack of passion for the course was reflected in his grades. By the third year of his studies, he had begun skipping classes, and he eventually dropped out.
He said: “My parents advised me not to drop out since I was so close to graduation. But I knew I would have spent at least one additional year in school to retake all the modules that I failed.
“I didn’t think much of it (when I dropped out). I underestimated the importance of education.”
Afterwards, Mr Lim worked odd jobs until he enlisted for national service (NS) in 2019. It was then that he received a wake-up call.
He said: “Everyone I met (in NS) had at least a polytechnic or a Nitec certificate. I felt (that I had fallen) so far behind my peers.”
Mr Levan Lim Yong Han and his mother at his graduation ceremony at Republic Polytechnic earlier in May.
PHOTO: REPUBLIC POLYTECHNIC
In 2021, he was seriously considering signing on as an army regular, but realised that his lack of a diploma severely limited his career paths in the army.
“I missed out on so much by dropping out – social life, friends and, most importantly, education itself,” he said.
His NS section mates also encouraged him to pursue further education. “They said that there was a lot ahead of me after NS and encouraged me to plan my next moves,” he recalled.
“One of them even said that I had a lot of potential and that I shouldn’t waste it. That stuck with me.”
Mr Lim applied to different polytechnics via the direct admissions exercise. He was eventually offered a place at RP in its business course.
When asked why he selected business, Mr Lim said: “I wanted something completely different from my previous course. I figured that business was also broad enough that it wouldn’t limit my career options.”
He credited his newfound academic success to the change in course and environment. “Rather than just studying from a textbook, I’m able to apply what I’ve learnt to real-world scenarios. It’s helped me learn and score better,” he said.
When he first started his studies at RP, he feared that he would be an outcast because of the age difference – around six years – with his course mates. “I was afraid that people would judge me. I was expecting to just go straight home after classes every day.”
Thankfully, Mr Lim said, the only questions he faced about his age were benign ones from curious peers. He added that he has been able to make a group of lifelong friends who “don’t treat me as if I was older than them, even if they like to joke about it”.
Mr Lim will be pursuing accountancy and business at NTU from July. He hopes to work in the banking sector after he graduates.
When asked how he felt now that he has graduated, he said he felt bittersweet about leaving RP behind.
He added: “It’s ironic, given that I’ve spent a total of six years (in polytechnic) but I’ve made a lot of good memories and good friends. But at the end of the day, I’m still six years behind my peers. This is just the starting line for me.”
