Ever since Ivan was young, he had the freedom to do whatever he liked, without being constrained by his father. Till one day, his father influenced him to be an Officer in National Service (NS). Hence, he headed to NS with an aim: to be an Officer. He strived and did his best and won best recruit and best physical training to name a few. When he started to do well in army, his confidence boosted and believed that he could do more. Eventually, his dream of entering Officer Cadet School (OCS) did come true.

For the first time, he had a goal, he worked hard for it, and he got it.

The second turning point in his life came when he got accepted into National University of Singapore (NUS), Singapore’s top University, after 2 rounds of rejections. He finally had the chance to begin on a clean state once again. By then, he was already feeling empowered, as though he could take on anybody and anything that comes his way. Through determination and perseverance, Ivan worked hard and competed with the rest of the elite students, in hopes to know where he stands amidst the elites.

After the first year, he managed to secure a spot in the dean’s list, even beating many of his friends who were from top schools previously. Following, in the second year, he was the only Year 2 student from the arts faculty who was selected to attend the exchange programme in University of California, Berkeley (UCB), one of the top Universities in United States.

After encountering many turning points, Ivan has transformed into a confident and self-assured individual, so different from the angst and insecure teenage boy from his past.

Experiences shape you, but ultimately, it’s the lens you view it through that matters. And this has been Ivan’s life mantra ever since.