Mums’ health struggles inspire NYP grads to design pastry-related game, pursue social work

It all started with a dismal PSLE result – Ms Sherine Yeoh had scored 148 for the national examinations and was disappointed with herself.

“It felt like a wake‑up call,” recalled the now 22-year-old, a recent Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP) graduate. “I had always been a happy‑go‑lucky student, but being placed in the Normal (Technical) stream forced me to face reality.

“Seeing my parents, especially my mother, disappointed, definitely added to my guilt.” 

But her mother was supportive and patient. 

Determined to pick herself up, Ms Yeoh went to ITE, where she discovered a passion for games, art and design. This led her to pursue a diploma in animation, games and visual effects at NYP through the Early Admissions Exercise. 

In 2025, Ms Yeoh’s mother developed a health complication, which required her to stay in hospital for a week before being discharged.

“I was so distraught. And during that point in time, I couldn’t see her as I was in Finland doing my internship,” Ms Yeoh said.

“We called every week, and I would just get teary-eyed whenever I saw her on the call, as she looked so sick, and I wanted to be there with her.”

Her mother is still recovering.  

Ms Yeoh’s appreciation for her mother inspired her to design a game titled Dear Mum: Letters From Home in 2026 as part of her school’s graduation requirement. She decided to design a pastry-related game as her mother is a pastry chef. 

Dear Mum: Letters from Home draws inspiration from Cookie Run, a series of online mobile games developed by Devsisters. 

In Ms Yeoh’s game, the main character, Jo, enjoys baking, but has lost all her memories. As players bake recipes from her cookbook, Jo unlocks letters from it, and her memories slowly return. 

The recipes in Dear Mum: Letters from Home include some of Ms Yeoh’s mother’s favourite desserts, such as Guinness chocolate cake and burnt cheesecake.

She also gathered pictures from her mother and researched what a pastry chef’s uniform and kitchenware looked like. In the game, utensils such as rolling pins became “weapons” that the character uses to fight enemies. 

Ms Yeoh wanted to make a game about her mother, as “she has done so much for my brother and me, taking care of our grandmother and us, too”.

Although she could choose to do the project individually or as part of a team, Ms Yeoh decided to go solo, with guidance from her lecturer.

“This project meant the world to me, and it was personal to me, as it was a game about my mother,” she said. 

Over 18 weeks, she worked on different aspects of the game, from visual development to 3D modelling, texturing and animation. 

During NYP’s School of Design graduation show, Ms Yeoh invited her mother and showed her the art book of her game designs. 

“She only smiled, but I could tell she was very happy and proud,” Ms Yeoh said.

She received the Tay Eng Soon Award for ITE Upgrader and will be pursuing a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Art, Design and Media at NTU under the Wee Choo Yaw Future Leaders scholarship programme.

She dreams of working with overseas companies such as Disney and Pixar one day. 

Mr Jason Ho’s mother also played a large part in his education and career choice.

His mother suffered a stroke in April 2022 and had to be hospitalised, and he found himself unable to concentrate on his studies as he worried about her. 

He was in Secondary 4 and preparing for his O-level examinations.

When his history teacher found out about his situation, she checked in with him regularly. “She said that I should continue to work diligently, as that’s what my mother would want to see when she recovers from the critical stage.” 

The encouragement helped him get through the difficult time. 

Mr Ho’s mother was in critical condition for a few weeks, but her condition has since improved. 

The recent NYP graduate, now 20, said the incident left a deep impression on him and inspired him to pursue a diploma in social work.

“(My teacher’s) words of comfort stayed with me, and that inspired my decision. I wanted to become a social worker who could support others through moments of vulnerability, just as I had been supported,” he said.

Keen to give back to society as well, he found a volunteering opportunity at the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) and has been a regular volunteer for two years, attending one or two sessions a month. Generally, the volunteers plan and conduct activities for the patients in the wards.

Mr Ho recalled encountering a patient who was unable to communicate verbally. For a few months, when the volunteers went for the sessions and did the activities, he would not speak at all. 

A breakthrough happened when Mr Ho and his fellow volunteers took the residents for a walk around the IMH premises. The patient began pointing out and identifying the different things that he saw, which surprised Mr Ho. 

“He would point out to a bird and slowly mutter the word... This was impactful to me, as it taught me that change, though slow, is very possible, especially when we social workers may have self-doubt on whether we actually make an impact on their lives.” 

On taking on a career in social work, he said: “I really enjoy empowering my clients. They are individuals with their own strengths and needs. 

“I see social work as being like guiding someone who is lost in the forest. Instead of forcing them to follow the right direction, what we as social workers do is shine a light on the different possible directions, and explore with their choices with them.” 

Mr Ho received the Tay Eng Soon Award for Health and Social Sciences, and he will be pursuing a degree in social work at NUS.