Discovering Her Passion for Geography

“I’m interested in how the world works. It gets me all excited! It’s my passion,” said Gina Wang, 19, a student from Innova Junior College, when speaking about Geography, her favourite subject.

The GCE A-level examination results were released on 1 March this year. About 90.6% of candidates achieved at least three H2 passes, with a pass in General Paper or Knowledge and Inquiry. Gina received three As for her H2 subjects, as well as two Bs and one C for her H1 subjects.

“My results are way better than I expected, because I always try to prepare myself for the worst case scenario,” said Gina.

During primary school, studying was not foremost in Gina’s mind. She obtained a PSLE score of 189 and enrolled in Springfield Secondary School. It was only at the upper secondary level that things began to change for her.

Discovering a Personal Interest

“I started studying in upper secondary because I found the humanities subjects interesting,” said Gina.

She began to set targets for herself and made efforts to study. She went on to score an L1R5 of 18 for her GCE O-levels and entered Innova Junior College.

“In secondary school, it was important to be cool. But in junior college, I found people to be focused on their studies. The environment motivated me to work harder,” said Gina, who was in the top 10% of her cohort during her time in junior college.

Her teachers would stay back after school to give extra classes and gave out their mobile numbers, so students could contact them if they had questions or problems with their work.

There were times when problems in school would get her down and result in tears. But Gina is thankful for her parents, whom she would confide in. During her A-level examination period, her parents also showed their support by making breakfast for her and giving hugs for moral support.

“When I shared with them my goals, my parents would encourage me to press on towards them,” said Gina.

Pursuing a Passion

The rigor of the A-level examinations has helped her to appreciate the knowledge that she can gain from studying and she believes that knowledge leads to progress.

“This is my gateway to the future,” said Gina.

Now that she has received her results, Gina intends to apply for a spot in the Geography department at the National University of Singapore (NUS). Gina also did well in Economics, but is not inclined to pursue it, though she knows that it might lead to better career prospects.

“I choose to study Geography because it’s my passion,” said Gina.