ITE Model Student Award winner gives back by tutoring younger students
The TL;DR: Growing up in a two-room rental flat, Ms Crystal Jade Tan was tutored by volunteers. Today, the 19-year-old ITE graduate is paying it forward by volunteering as a tutor for younger students. She is one of nine recipients of this year’s Lee Kuan Yew Model Student Award, which recognises students for outstanding conduct and all-rounded achievement.
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Ms Crystal Jade Tan is one of nine recipients of this year’s Lee Kuan Yew Model Student Award, which recognises students for outstanding conduct and all-rounded achievement.
PHOTO: ITE
SINGAPORE – Since her first year in ITE, 19-year-old Crystal Jade Tan has spent three hours every Sunday morning tutoring primary school pupils and secondary school students in a Buddhist temple.
Ms Tan was once a beneficiary of the very programme she now volunteers for, and wanted to give back to the community.
Growing up in a two-room rental flat with her parents and younger brother, Ms Tan benefited not only from free volunteer-run tuition programmes in primary and secondary school, but also from community initiatives such as food drives organised by various charities.
“I wanted to (pay forward) the simple kindness that was shown to me,” said Ms Tan. “The community helped me. Why shouldn’t I give back by helping others?”
Ms Tan, who graduated as the top student in her Nitec in mechatronics and robotics course in December 2025, was one of nine students who received the Lee Kuan Yew Model Student Award on May 19.
The award is presented to ITE students who have consistently performed well and demonstrated outstanding conduct and attitudes worthy of emulation by their peers. Ms Tan scored a perfect 4.0 grade point average and won multiple awards for her academic achievements.
“I didn’t expect to win at all, but I’m thankful and excited to have won,” she said. “I feel like my efforts, both in school and outside, have been seen and acknowledged.”
Throughout her time in ITE, Ms Tan juggled academics with volunteering, alongside financial and caregiving responsibilities at home.
Her father, the sole breadwinner of her four-person household, was diagnosed with a chronic health condition when she was in Secondary 2 and stopped working in 2021. She declined to provide further details about his condition.
“I was quite worried about how we were going to support ourselves when I found out,” Ms Tan recalled. “I offered to go out and work earlier, but my parents told me to focus on my studies and get good grades.”
Ms Tan works part-time during school holidays to earn pocket money for herself and her brother, who is two years younger. During the holidays, she works five days a week, earning more than $1,000 a month to help support their basic needs, including food and school supplies.
Her first job was as a retail assistant at a clothing store. She has also worked at a medical equipment supplier, repairing surgical equipment and endoscopes during her time at ITE.
Among her co-curricular achievements, she served as president of ITE’s Automation and Robotics Club. She led her team to third place in the National Robotics Competition 2024 for developing a flood mitigation system that captured storm water in carpark tanks for sustainable re-use in estate maintenance and irrigation.
Besides support from her family, Ms Tan credits her academic success to her passion for her course.
“I’ve been interested in (engineering-related) courses since I took design and technology in secondary school,” she said. “I’m more of a hands-on person, so the course fits me well.”
Since graduating from ITE, Ms Tan has enrolled in Nanyang Polytechnic to pursue a diploma in robotics and mechatronics. She hopes to work in the engineering sector after graduation.
