Commentary: I gave up JC to go to poly and never looked back

SINGAPORE: I have rarely used the knowledge I gained in school for my career, except for the skills - most of them intangible - that I picked up in polytechnic. 

For instance, while struggling to juggle deadlines (a journalist’s bane and lifeblood) and multiple projects or to simply stay awake after burning the midnight oil for three consecutive nights, one mantra has helped me through the madness: “If I can get through mass comm, I can get through anything.”

Ngee Ann Polytechnic’s Diploma in Mass Communication was notorious for its rigorous curriculum. We were expected to be the best of the next generation of media professionals - and we were trained accordingly.

Fresh out secondary school, we were expected to create entire marketing campaigns from scratch, build a whole website individually, produce a radio show, learn about form versus function to design brochures, and present our pitches to real-world clients. 

Every semester, aside from our internship semester, we had to juggle at least three major projects with different sets of groupmates, on top of smaller assignments across at least five varied modules. We were stretched beyond our limits.

It was demanding, infuriating, and exhausting. And it was also the most fulfilling three years of my education.

Every mid-April, when polytechnic students begin their new academic year, I am reminded of the life-changing decision that I made at 17.

FROM JC TO POLY 

But it almost didn’t happen for me. 

Before the release of the O-Level results, I had already been placed in a reputable junior college (JC) through the Provisional Admission Exercise. Colloquially known as the “first three months”, the exercise (which was scrapped in 2009) gave students waiting for their O-Level results the option to join a JC or centralised institute based on their school’s internal preliminary examinations.

I made friends during those three months in JC, and I eventually did well enough in my O-Levels to retain my spot. There was no reason to leave my comfort zone - except for a growing, gnawing feeling that it wasn’t right for me. 

The thought of studying a limited number of subjects that I didn’t particularly care about for two years bored me to tears. Still I ignored my gut - entering a JC was the expected step after secondary school to get into a local university. 

And I would have stayed too. But I overheard a conversation among a few JC schoolmates about visiting Open House day at the five polytechnics “for fun” - and decided to follow my curiosity.

I solely checked out Ngee Ann Polytechnic’s Open House, as its mass communication course was the only diploma I knew. It also aligned with my personal interests in creative media.

I didn’t expect the casual visit to change the course of my life. The diversity of modules, from radio production to advertising, prioritised hands-on learning which was what I desired.

The relatively independent learning, often touted as a differentiating factor between JCs and polytechnics, felt empowering, like I was in charge of my own growth. At the same time, every semester’s grades would count towards my final Grade Point Average (GPA), which gave me the necessary structure, accountability, and sense of competition. 

For the first time in my life, I felt excited about studying. 

FACING PARENTAL DISAPPROVAL 

When I first broached the idea of choosing the polytechnic route, my academically inclined parents, especially my father, could not understand why I would turn down a spot in a good JC that others were fighting to enter. 

I couldn’t blame them. I would be the first non-JC graduate in our family and extended family, and my parents were worried it might be harder for me to get into a local university and what that might mean for my career prospects.

In recent years, more O-Level school leavers have been choosing polytechnic education, although it wasn’t so during my time. According to local reports, 52 per cent of O-Level graduates were placed in a polytechnic in 2020, compared with 38 per cent (excluding Integrated Programme students) who were given places in JCs and Millennia Institute. 

There were several tense discussions about my supposedly "risky" decision. By the time the O-Level results were released, my parents still hadn’t fully come around, but I went ahead and selected the mass communication course as my first choice.

It was lonely to have faith in a future that I felt no one else could see, especially at such pivotal crossroads. But I felt it would be easier to live with disappointing other people than disappointing myself. 

BEYOND TANGIBLE SKILLS

Even with my certainty, it wasn’t smooth sailing during the three-year course, especially during the times my GPA dipped, and I was reminded that I needed to get my grades up.

But those periods of self-doubt showed me what it meant to be accountable for my choices and their possible consequences. 

It also prompted deeper reflection of my skills and the career I wanted, making me realise I hadn’t really thought about the purpose of going to university aside from fulfilling my parents’ wishes. So I took a gap year after polytechnic.

When I landed a spot in a local university eventually, I opted out of Honours year despite the probability of obtaining a second upper based on my grades. I didn’t see its purpose in pursuing a journalism career, and I was done with letting conventional measures of success shape my life. 

Polytechnic life had revealed a version of success that worked for me. The culture was creative, chaotic, unconventional, but it was also supportive and helped me see that weaknesses can be turned into strengths in the right environment. 

My traits that made secondary school a chore, such as being easily bored and a disdain for rigidity, were encouraged. My obsession with popular culture wasn't seen as time wasted online, but relevant to myriad school projects. 

And despite their initial reservations, my parents grew to appreciate the value of polytechnic education - and letting me make major decisions - when they saw how much I'd learnt and that I truly enjoyed school. 

My time in polytechnic showed me what happens when I listen to my instincts about my own life. It taught me resilience, resourcefulness and street smarts, time and expectation management, how to think out of the box, adapt when things didn’t go according to plan, and be an excellent generalist. 

It also set the benchmark for the top criteria I look for in a career and workplace environment: Somewhere I can be myself. And more than a decade after graduating from polytechnic, I have it now.

To be clear, there is nothing wrong with any specific path after secondary school, as long as you own the choice. Two or three years can be a painfully long time to live out someone else’s dream. 

But knowing what to choose first requires an abundance of self-knowledge, from being aware of your passions to how you learn, and the willingness to explore various options, whether through career exploration programmes or doing your own research.

Despite everything I’ve gained by choosing a polytechnic, it was only the second-best decision I made at 17. The best decision was choosing to trust myself. 

Grace Yeoh is a senior journalist with CNA.