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Dream comes true

Ms Wee is confident that she can relate well to ITE students.
PHOTO: CHONG JUN LIANG

THE Institute of Technical Education (ITE) is giving Ms Janice Wee the chance to be a lec-turer and help youngsters acquire the skills to be successful in their studies and careers.

The 25-year-old is spending one year as a teaching associate in the ITE College East before she pursues her bachelor’s degree in food science and technology at the National University of Singapore (NUS) from August.

She will be an ITE lecturer upon graduat-ing from NUS in 2012. The ITE will sponsor her university studies under its associate cum scholarship scheme.

Ms Wee wanted to study further after getting a diploma in applied food science and nutrition from Temasek Polytechnic in 2003, but was unable to fulfil her dream. She had to work to support her mother and intellectually disabled elder sister. Her father, the family’s sole breadwinner, died when she was just 13 years old.

After five years as a nutritionist in the beauty services industry, Ms Wee applied successfully for the ITE scholarship, paving the way for her to find fulfilment in teaching food science to students.

She says: “When I was young, my dad always told me to study hard to get good results and contribute back to society when I grew up. Teaching young Singaporeans is one of the best ways I can give back to Singapore in my lifetime. The ITE scholarship gives me a great opportunity to fulfil my dream.”

Elaborating on her role as a teaching associate, she says: “ITE students are different because they enjoy more hands-on education. Many of them also come from families facing financial issues. I know I can relate well to them.

“The ITE teaching associate position helps me to use my knowledge and skills to teach young people who may have similarly difficult backgrounds like me.

“Even if their backgrounds are different, I feel ITE students are not as well appreciated as other students. I want to help them to overcome this and be able to make a success of their education and careers.”

In a fast-paced education system, Ms Wee has to be flexible, adaptable and also have good time management skills. She says: "Another challenge is to be extremely tactful when handling students with different types of psychological, emotional and family issues."

"I also need to constantly create interest-ing and fun lessons so that the students will be more receptive and do well in their exams."

"Last but not least, I need to master the balance between my teaching modules and my in-house or external projects."

"I overcome these challenges by asking other lecturers for insights and help. I also attend in-house courses and workshops to learn from senior lecturers on how to tackle different issues that new teachers may face.”

Ms Wee wants to be a caring teacher and be remembered for her positive impact on the lives of her students. After completing her degree at NUS, she will “return to teach at ITE and this is where I will have an excellent chance for career progression”.