ACJC Cherishes the Class of 2020

During their time at ACJC the Class of 2020 lived out the College values of Integrity, Tenacity, Passion, in Order to Make a Difference. They made the most of their time in spite of the challenges created by the pandemic, and have left their mark on the College. Each member of the cohort is special. Here, we highlight a few exemplary ACSians from the Class of 2020.

Chloe Lee Xue Ning
Chloe was the Valedictorian of the Class of 2020. As Vice-President of the 44th Students’ Council, Chloe demonstrated outstanding leadership. She chaired the committee that organised Seniors’ Night 2019, coordinating the efforts of different teams to ensure a memorable evening for the Class of 2019. In the 2019 ACJC CCA Advisory Board (CCAAB) Camp organised by the College to develop student leaders, Chloe was awarded the Best Girl Camper in recognition of her leadership abilities. In 2020 she mentored the JC1 Students’ Council nominees and collaborated with different departments to create several publicity videos for the event. Her interest in mentoring others is unsurprising as she hopes to pursue teaching as a future career. In order to learn more about teaching, she participated in the Ministry of Education (MOE) Student Mentorship Programme 2020. She takes service to heart, and took a key role in ACares 2020, a Values-In Action (VIA) project to express gratitude to Singapore’s healthcare workers during the pandemic.

Evan Lim Shouwang
Evan was the President of the 44th Students’ Council. Evan’s calm demeanour came to the fore in leading the Council through the challenges posed by COVID-19. He led his team of Councillors and Orientation Group Leaders (OGLs) to make decisive well-rationalised modifications to the Orientation 2020 programme despite receiving news of the COVID-19 safety guidelines the evening before the Orientation. The JC1 students were made to feel a part of the ACJC family even as necessary measures meant that they were not able to assemble together as a full school. Evan’s leadership extended beyond ACJC as he volunteered with the Boys’ Brigade (BB). He served as the Head Primer of the 12BR Singapore Company based in Anglo-Chinese School (Barker Road). In this capacity, he led over twenty volunteers in mentoring and guiding nearly 80 secondary school students weekly. Evan was also involved in the BB Share-a-Gift Project 2019 which aimed to spread Christmas cheer to over 43000 beneficiaries through the distribution of hampers. In recognition of his outstanding contributions to the BB and his sound character, Evan received the President’s Award from President Halimah Yacob in 2020.

Pierre Ng Chong Heng
Pierre is a young person with a heart for service. As his class’s VIA Representative, he organised a project in 2019 with his classmates to serve at the Harvest Care Centre, helping children from underprivileged backgrounds. His desire to serve reached beyond our shores, as he took part in the 2019 Overseas Community Involvement Project (OCIP) to Chiang Mai, Thailand. Pierre and his group members had the opportunity to teach students at the rural Ban San Klang school. He was actively involved in the planning stages and during the trip, with the help of his peers, helped to ensure that the trip was completed meaningfully and smoothly. Ian’s experience during OCIP will stand him in good stead as he works towards his dream of joining the teaching profession.

Ian Dylan Chai Ee Ann

Ian is a gifted speaker and writer, and this was evident in his subject combination, as he offered English Language and Linguistics, Literature in English, Theatre Studies and Drama, and Knowledge and Inquiry. As Captain of the ACJC Debate Team, he attained top 10 rankings in a number of national and international competitions and led his team to creditable performances. Ian was also a member of the organising committee and emcee for TEDxYouth@ACJC 2020, an online TEDx conference on the theme of ‘Sustaining the Human Spirit: the Arts in Times of Global Crisis’. Ian believes in giving back to the community, and worked with his class on a VIA project to raise funds for an animal shelter and to raise awareness of the benefits of adopting rescued animals. Ian’s desire for community outreach has also led to the establishment of Student Outreach Sarawak, a long-term initiative aiming to guide students in Sarawak in their journey to seek out opportunities for post-secondary education

Nurul Janna Binte Muhammad Muhiddin
Janna is a true all-rounder, pursuing her interests in science, culture, sports and community service during her time in ACJC. She developed a keen interest in pharmacology, which she hopes to pursue as part of a future career in healthcare. To that end, she enrolled in the NUS Summer Camp 2020, where the online modules enabled her to learn about the application of scientific concepts to patient care in real world situations. As President of the Malay Cultural Society, she led efforts to champion the importance of Mother Tongue Languages and Malay language and culture in particular. She was also a member of the ACJC Softball team in 2019, despite having no prior experience in the sport. Furthermore, she took part in a VIA project to befriend senior citizens at Ang Mo Kio Thye Hua Kwan Hospital. Janna exemplifies the holistic education that is the hallmark of the ACJC experience.

Varun Shukla
Varun is passionate about science, offering Computing, Mathematics and Physics as his subject combination. Beyond the classroom, he took part in the Singapore Young Physicists’ Tournament 2020 poster presentation, NTU SCSE Computing Challenge 2020 and BuildingBloCS 2020. Varun’s experience in these competitions and events helped him gain insights into demands of research and developing applications to solve real world problems. He took the opportunity to join the College’s Floorball team although the sport was new to him, and participated enthusiastically in training activities, eventually playing a role in taking his House team to first position in the Inter-House Games 2019. Like his peers, Varun is determined to give back to the community. His projects included raising funds for elderly residents of the Bukit Batok community, HeyDay, organised by the Science and Maths Council, and KleenACS, a project to support the school’s cleaners during the pandemic by assisting in disinfecting learning spaces.

Tan Jean Wen, Bowie
Bowie is an accomplished sportsperson.She was the Vice-captain of the ACJC Softball team, and helped lead the team to the championship title of the National Interschool Softball Championship in both the years 2018 and 2019. Bowie was also a member of the Singapore National Team. She was a crucial player in the National Softball Team that participated in the 2019 Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games). This necessitated a difficult decision for Bowie, as the SEA Games schedule created a conflict with her preparations for the 2019 GCE A-Level examinations. After seeking advice from her coaches and teachers, she took a gap year from her studies to focus on training for the SEA Games, and give her best to both fields of endeavour. Her achievements were acknowledged by the Singapore Olympic Foundation (SOF) and she was awarded the prestigious SOF-Peter Lim Scholarship in 2020. She also attained the Singapore Schools’ Sports Council (SSSC) Distinction colours award in 2018 and was appointed as the SSSC Best Sports Girl for Softball in 2019. She was also awarded the ACJC Sports Scholarship and ACSOBA President’s Sports Girl Award. Bowie has a caring heart. She was part of her class VIA project ‘Care AC’ to spread awareness of mental health issues and coping mechanisms. She was also a volunteer at Willing Hearts, preparing and delivering meals to those less fortunate.

Harith Rayan Putra Sahri
Harith is a keen athlete, and was awarded the ACSOBA President’s Sports Boy Award 2020. Harith was a member of the ACJC Football team, and participated in many national level competitions. In addition, he represented Singapore in the ASEAN Schools Football Championship in 2019. His experience proved to be inspirational, and he hopes to represent the nation in the future. Harith also served on the Executive Council of the Malay Cultural Society. It was through his role there and with his class that he demonstrated his deep desire to make a difference. He participated in the Ramadan on Wheels VIA in which he helped distribute necessities to the lower-income families, and conducted a ‘Saving Water’ campaign at the Tiong Bahru neighbourhood as part of the ‘Youths Give Back!’ campaign with his classmates. In addition, he worked with his class to prepare care packages and notes of appreciation for the College’s support staff, acknowledging their role behind the scenes.

Aloysius Lim Jin Shen
Aloysius clearly demonstrated the College values of tenacity and passion in his time at ACJC. He was a supporting researcher in the ‘Diversity and Distribution of Intertidal Marine Species of Singapore’ project undertaken by NUS. He was an active member of the Science and Maths Council, and played important roles helping to craft questions for the Biology segment of the International C.B. Paul Memorial Quiz and served as a team leader for HeyDay. He was Vice-captain of the ACJC Table Tennis team, proving an inspiration to his juniors as someone who had joined with no prior experience. For his contributions, he received a Commendation Award at Honours Day 2020. Not only did Aloysius serve the College and wider community, he also took on the role of primary caregiver for his mother when she was undergoing treatment for cancer, taking on household chores and accompanying her on hospital appointments. His dedication to his family and to his responsibilities in school deeply inspired his peers, and in recognition of his good character and tenacity in the face of adversity, he was awarded the ACJC Courage Award in 2020.