Officer Cadet (OCT) Keefe Lau left a mainstream school after secondary three but entered the Singapore Sports School at the same level as he had struggled to balance his archery commitments with his studies.
Still, he achieved his goal by completing his diploma studies at Republic Polytechnic and enlisting in the army.
Yesterday, he became the first polytechnic student to be awarded the prestigious Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) Scholarship.
Said the 21-year-old: "I repeated Secondary 3 and took the polytechnic route, which may not be as conventional as others who received the scholarship.
"But I have grown and learnt that my path is a result of my own determination and action. With that in mind, everything I do in the military has always been a conscious decision to always put my best foot forward."
OCT Lau, who has a diploma in health services management, was among nine to receive the SAF Scholarship award from Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen at the Istana.
Since its introduction in 1971, 340 people have received the SAF Scholarship, including Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Trade and Industry Minister Chan Chun Sing, and chief executive of Changi Airport Group Lee Seow Hiang.
OCT Lau, who hopes to study political science in an overseas university, said he enjoys touching the lives of others as he did when he was in the polytechnic's student council. "Being able to bring this forward into the military, giving the soldiers on the ground a more fruitful NS experience is something I really look forward to," he added.
Midshipman (MID) Allison Tan Sue Min is the first School of the Arts (Sota) student to receive the SAF Scholarship. The 19-year-old will study international relations next year at the University of St Andrews in Scotland.
Her first exposure to military life was at a programme the Defence Ministry conducted for pre-tertiary students in June last year.
"While the machinery - the tanks, the ships, the aircraft - was cool, what stood out for me was the genuine sense of interest the personnel had in us, and their very strong commitment to and passion for serving," said MID Tan, who used to specialise in dance.
"That was what roped me in for the long haul."
Mr Alvin Tan, 21, who got the Defence Science Technology Agency Scholarship, realised the potential in defence science when he did his full-time national service as a security trooper at Changi Air Base.
"I saw there were a lot of applications of tech in the security field."
The former Dunman High student, whose interest in programming was sparked when he got his first iPhone at 14, will study computer science and economics at Nanyang Technological University.
This story has been updated for accuracy.
