A Degree's Not The Only Way To Achieve Dream...

Came across the following inspiring article which i wanna share with u...a path less taken...but how many ppl have the courage to take the road less travelled? esp in our practical society...where there r sooooo many ppl brandishing double or triple degrees from fanciful universities...where paper qualifications seem so impt...ppl can always say tt they dont judge u...but they have alrdy formed their impressions of u deep down at the bottom of their hearts! =.=" i've mentioned time n again tt ppl tend to only rem how i look...but not the degree tt i hold nor the profession tt i'm in...

Update:
Squeezing my leechie brain juices over some legal issues...now trying to double up as some patent officer n understand all the mambo-jumbo legal terms...how cool...law school seems so interesting all of a sudden o.O

“Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.” ~ Albert Einstein















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A degree's not the only way to achieve dream


By Rachel Chang

"AFTER national service, Mr Darran Nathan, now 31, had two options.

He could have followed in the footsteps of some polytechnic graduates and gone to university, or continued developing a computing technology he worked on in school and tinkered with through NS.

As the top student in his Ngee Ann Polytechnic cohort, he had a bond-free, full scholarship from Ngee Ann Kongsi to attend any university in the world.

'There was strong survival pressure at that time to go to university,' he said. 'But ultimately, I had to think about what I really wanted in life.'

With $80,000 in funding from Spring Singapore and his alma mater, Mr Nathan commercialised the technology into a software that makers of animation films now use in India, Australia and Hollywood.

His investors include the co-founders of Skype.

Minister of State for Education Lawrence Wong yesterday cited Mr Nathan as an example of 'students who recognise that a degree is not the only route to achieving one's dream'.

In fact, Mr Nathan is a veteran of unorthodox choices. He scored seven A1s in his O-level examinations, but chose to get an electronic and computer engineering diploma rather than go to junior college.

'I know there is a great desire among young people to get a university education,' said Mr Wong in his maiden speech in the House. 'But there are many good students who prefer a hands-on, practice-based environment.'

The Ministry of Education will raise its investment in the polytechnics and new Institute of Technical Education colleges to provide more opportunities for future Mr Nathans, he said.

Mr Wong said he had met many young people who give back to society through grassroots work, community service or social enterprise. They have 'encouraged' him.

He hopes more Singaporeans of all ages will step forward to serve, because 'service makes our lives richer'.

'I know it has made mine more fulfilling and meaningful. Through service, we not only discover more about ourselves, but also about the meaning of community and the meaning of citizenship.' "

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Interesting Quotes:

"Successful people have doubts and successful people worry. The only difference between those who succeed and those who don’t is that successful people act regardless of the fear.
Even those who don’t have integrity or brains but who act anyway are going to find more success than geniuses with integrity who keep it to themselves because they’re too afraid to put themselves out there." ~ Harv