SINGAPORE - When Ms Amanda Chan was a student at the National University of Singapore 10 years ago, a rare spinal condition resulted in her experiencing weakness in her lower body and by the end of her first semester, she had lost the ability to walk.
"It was a major shift in my life and there were a lot of adjustments to make to learn a new way of living. Ordinary things I used to be able to do independently became impossible without the use of a wheelchair or someone to help me," said Ms Chan, who declined to give her age, citing privacy.
She stopped school for one semester for treatment and rehabilitation.
Her priority then was to also get work experience and eventually find a job after graduating to support herself.
"One of the challenges was navigating the conversations around this topic - the elephant in the room - to explain to them that I was equally capable of undertaking the core responsibilities of the job," said Ms Chan.
"Employment was very important to me, I wanted to be able to provide for myself and my loved ones," she added.
The chemistry student managed to land an internship with a statutory board where her bosses and colleagues were supportive.
Securing the internship gave her the confidence to keep going, and boosted her chances of employment later on, she said.
In 2014, Deutsche Bank launched its dbEnable work placement programme for students with disabilities, and Ms Chan was among the three students in the first batch.
The 10-week internship led to a full-time role in 2015, and Ms Chan is now an associate with the taxes and know-your-client quality assurance department.
She was among four recipients of the Exemplary Employee award at the Enabling Mark awards ceremony on Friday (Aug 27). The awards are organised by SG Enable.
The award recognises employees with disabilities who have made commendable efforts and contributions at the workplace.
Ms Chan now volunteers as a buddy to new interns joining the programme in her company, encouraging them to try new things and assuring them that they would be able to succeed in the workplace.
She hopes other companies can also roll out such internship programmes to increase inclusive hiring in Singapore.
Mentorship programmes also empower those with disabilities and connect them to job opportunities, she said.
She added: "It is also important to raise awareness within organisations, to have dialogue sessions to shape attitudes and the culture and help others understand why disability inclusion matters."
Things have come a long way since Ms Chan first entered the workforce.
"My main worry then was how potential employers would perceive my ability to perform. I guess initially, people might just see my disability but over time, they started to look beyond that.
"It comes to a point where there's a realisation that we are equally capable of performing," she said.