After leaving uni amid depression, art helped her find her way
Behind every academic result is a young person quietly chasing their dreams, beating the odds and hoping to make something of themselves. In More than Grades, a series by The Straits Times, we tell the stories of youth who are making waves in school and beyond.
Sign up now: Get tips on how to help your child succeed
Artist Dorcas Tang, 24, pictured with her murals on Nov 25.
ST PHOTO: JASON QUAH
- Dorcas Tang struggled with mental health, facing depression and anxiety due to the pressures of pursuing architecture on a scholarship.
- After breaking her scholarship bond and seeking therapy, Tang realised the value of her artistic gifts and enrolled in an online illustration course.
- Tang is now a freelance artist and mental health advocate, encouraging open discussion about struggles and promoting self-worth in children.
AI generated
SINGAPORE – Ms Dorcas Tang had always wanted to study art since she was in primary school. But following the advice of those around her, she chose a more practical path, pursuing studies in science and architecture, while continuing to make art on the side.
She accepted a scholarship that would fully fund her polytechnic and university studies in architecture, in return for a three-year bond.
But this decision eventually took a toll on her mental health.
While studying sustainable urban design and engineering in polytechnic, the straight-A student was so overwhelmed by the demanding course that on one particularly challenging day, she could not even get out of bed.
Gradually, she started skipping classes, and her grades slipped to the point where she was almost debarred from school.
Noticing that something was amiss, her boyfriend accompanied her to a polyclinic. At 19, Ms Tang was diagnosed with clinical depression and anxiety. Still, she persisted, graduating from polytechnic as valedictorian.
Armed with antidepressants, meditation techniques and a network of support groups, Ms Tang decided to plough on with her scholarship to study architecture at university. But three weeks into the course, she suffered a relapse.
“There were days when I would feel a fog come over me, and I’d just not be able to do anything or answer any calls.”
At one point, she did not leave her room for a week. “I felt very trapped,” said Ms Tang, who is now 24.
After completing three semesters, she decided to defer her studies and began serving part of her bond. But she failed to show up for work and was dismissed after three weeks.
This was when she dropped out of school and broke her scholarship bond in February 2023. “That was rock bottom for me because I had tried to do my best to earn all those grades and be a good student, but all that backfired on me,” she said.
Ms Tang was diagnosed with clinical depression and anxiety at the age of 19.
ST PHOTO: JASON QUAH
She noted the irony of clinging to architecture in the hope of achieving financial security. “I now had no money – not just no money, but no school and no job.”
Starting over
To settle the five-figure sum required for her bond, Ms Tang used her savings and borrowed additional funds from her parents.
She reached a turning point when she started free therapy with the Singapore Association for Mental Health, which had her journalling to better understand her thoughts.
This made her realise she had been seeing her artistic gifts and sensitivity as liabilities, despite them being central to who she was.
She began searching for places to study art formally, enrolling in a Bachelor of Arts in illustration course at Falmouth University in September 2023. The two-year online course gave her room to pick up where she had left off, painting watercolour art commissions and creating infographics on social and environmental issues.
She also took up opportunities to paint murals with the community in various neighbourhoods under government initiatives aimed at enlivening public spaces.
At the same time, Ms Tang discovered a passion for creating illustrations for children, eventually illustrating her first children’s book, The Three Hungry Microbes, in collaboration with author Cuifen Pui.
The Three Hungry Microbes, an illustrated children’s book by Ms Tang and local sustainability advocate Cuifen Pui, was published in August.
PHOTO: DORCAS TANG
Although freelance work comes with its own set of challenges, Ms Tang, after recovering from depression, has learnt to approach work at a pace that suits her needs.
Ms Tang is currently working on an upcoming children’s book on self-worth, aimed at helping children understand that their value is innate.
ST PHOTO: JASON QUAH
Reflecting on her journey, Ms Tang, who was an ambassador for the national mental health anti-stigma campaign Beyond The Label in 2024, said there is a need for people to talk more about the struggles they face.
“Even if things are happening in your personal life, you’re still expected to show up for work from nine to five, day to day, and pretend that nothing’s happening in your internal world,” she said.
“It breeds this idea that everybody has it perfect, and is expected to show up a certain way, when, in reality, if we all let down our walls and are just honest with each other, we can connect a lot better.”
Sharing her story publicly, though daunting, has been rewarding for Ms Tang. “I think the most gratifying thing for me is when other people start to see that their own gifts are worth sharing, and that they have inherent value within themselves.”
Having graduated from Falmouth, she is now working on a children’s book on self-worth, aimed at helping children understand that their value is innate.
“It’s not tied to what they produce or what they achieve, and there’s no need for them to compare themselves against other people because every single child has their own gift that deserves to be nurtured.”
