Why I Did Not Drop out of College and Instead Did NOC Twice
Former RI student Gabrielle Ong made the Straits Times headlines recently, praised for pursuing her passion in coding and her decision to not enter college. Read the story here if you have not:
Kudos to her for finding out what she is passionate about! Her story, while inspiring, should be seen as an exception rather than the norm. To be clear, I am not criticizing her choice (it is brave to break away from the normative system). Rather, the media’s strong marketing ways to legitimize life choices make for a great story but hardly one that the general population can follow.
Society generally benefits from college going individuals. College students are more likely to make concise arguments, practice good citizenship behaviour and contribute more to economic growth. Simply put, college going individuals bring positive externalities and less Trump supporters (arguably).
Of course, this is not to say non-college goers cannot achieve a similar outcome for the society or that a college degree is the path to definite success. Yet the media is greatly influential and has the potential to permanently alter our perspectives and life choices; so we really should pay attention.
This post neither debates on whether college is good or bad, nor is it about choosing coding as a career. It is simply me sharing my experience. I feel it may offer a middle ground that balances two issues at play in this discussion — passion and stability. The first, which Gabrielle represents, is the idea of pursuing what you enjoy. The second, the college degree, represents the pre-defined path towards a life with relative predictability.
Between these two, the definitions of success, purpose and reward is seemingly polarised. But what if in reality, things are not on the extreme ends of a scale?
Surprised? Well, don’t be. Many things just does not exist on the extreme opposites. Issues are easier to understand in binary terms, yes or no. Yet the reality is — like a normal distribution curve, the middle ground thrives. I think my NUS Overseas College experience would justify as an ideal middle ground.
I was fortunate to discover the NUS Overseas Colleges programme even before I entered college (Note: I am not paid by NUS to write this). It was in 2014, at a lunch with a couple of Junior College friends at Sushi Express. I had just finished National Service and was waiting to enter college in August. The meal was normal and bland; those where you feel good meeting everyone two years on, yet you can’t remember much about it. However, it was memorable due to Sue Ann and her sharing about her 1 year experience at the NUS Overseas College (Shanghai) Programme. In a quick summary, the programme offers students of National University of Singapore (NUS) the opportunity to work in a start up for up to a year while taking classes at a partner university. The programme is available in 9 cities, including Silicon Valley, Shanghai and Stockholm.
The nitty gritty details of her story has since been forgotten, but what I remembered was someone who was clearer of her dreams, spoke more confidently and more knowledgeable than when i last met her. Plus, she got to spend 1 year living overseas. To this 21 year old who have never lived overseas, that was a huge plus point. I made up my mind to definitely go for the programme.
Fast forward 2 years, I am doing it twice.
I did the programme first in Singapore, working at a start up, Pearcomms. I viewed it as a way to navigate myself into the eco-system; to try and understand what this whole new world has to offer. I was a total clueless noob as Carousell was the only start up-ish thing I knew. It has been an enriching experience with me constantly learning new things and understanding the who’s who in this dynamic playing arena. I got bitten by the start up bug after the stint.
I returned to school full time after the programme, but I could never get the experience out of my head. Social ties were formed, ideas were seeded and I became more disillusioned with college education. If LSD was a job experience, this will be it. The natural thing i did then is to try and return to the space.
By social conventions, i will not be considered to be as brave as Gabrielle or Mark Zuckerberg, because clearly, the most convincing way to return to that passionate space was to leave college. Which i did not. I was not at the extremes in the debate of stability and passion; i stood in the middle ground. It’s like I would climb Yosemite but I won’t do it without ropes like Alex Hannold. So i tried to follow my heart and yet still stay within the stability boundaries of college — a way which is not promoted by the media or the society, to find a middle ground between passion and stability. I reapplied for the programme in early 2016, and i got it.
9 months down, I am here in the Valley embarking on the 2nd leg of my journey. Currently, I work at NewGen Capital, a micro Venture Capital that invests in Seed and Pre-A companies. This experience is offering me an alternate view to the startup ecosystem. And I am loving it.
At this point in my life, I think I am chasing my passion. I get out of bed feeling excited about the work i need to do and the people I get to meet (Not everyday of course, Monday Blues still gets me). Do you still need to leave or skip college to do that? I think my story attest otherwise. Yet don’t get me wrong, going to college should not be the focus. Rather, it is about chasing something that makes you excited, something memorable and hopefully something meaningful.
I am thankful to be able to figure this out while still in college.
Reach out to me if you want to hear more about my story or is considering the NOC Programme at the National University of Singapore. Again, I am not paid by NUS to write this; the views above are purely my own.
