When Shallini Siva Kuma received her Joint Admissions Exercise (JAE) posting results on a sleepy January morning in 2022, the words on her computer screen jolted her wide awake. She had been posted to her eighth choice: a Diploma in Interaction Design (now known as Diploma in Experience Design) at Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP).
“I stared at my laptop and thought: When did I even list this as one of my choices? What is this course about? I started crying because I was so, so scared. I didn’t know if it would bring me closer to my dream of becoming an art teacher,” recalls the 22-year-old.
Shallini with an artwork she created while she was at Yishun Town Secondary School.
Inspired by her mother, a teacher of over 30 years and her love for the subject, Shallini has always seen art as her one true passion. She had pinned her hopes on her top three choices – all animation courses – believing they were her ticket to teaching art. After all, her own art teacher, Mr Chua Wei Qiang from Yishun Town Secondary School, comes from an animation background.
Little did she know, the course she hadn’t planned on would help her discover new strengths and expand her career paths, with her mom and teachers cheering her on.
Seeking reassurance
That very morning when she got her posting results, Shallini reached out to Mr Chua, who patiently unpacked the field of Interaction Design to calm her nerves. What stuck with her wasn’t the details of web, app, and installation design, but a single line of reassurance from her teacher.
“He said, ‘No matter what you do, I know that you will excel.’ I felt more motivated hearing that, and it gave me hope that I will figure it out,” says Shallini.
Shallini’s time in NYP got off to a rough start. She was already uneasy about committing to a three-year course she hadn’t wanted, and adapting to tertiary life only added to the pressure.
“I told my friends and family that I was so scared and lost, and I really didn’t know what I was doing,” she recalls.
The turning point
But Shallini didn’t suffer in silence for long. Seeing her struggle in class, her NYP lecturers reached out and reassured her that no question was out of bounds. When she cried, they comforted her, promising that they would get through it together.
“My lecturers became my reason to keep going and see what’s at the end of this tunnel,” says Shallini.
Gradually, as she found her footing in the modules, she also uncovered her own reasons to persist. Chief among them was a newfound openness to other career paths sparked by a conversation with her mother. “My mum said, ‘Don’t limit yourself to just one path. There are so many things in the world you can pursue with your creativity.’ That encouraged me to venture out of the box I’d put myself in.”
This shift in mindset set the stage for Shallini to flourish in her final year. What ultimately transformed her perspective was a project she co-led with her best friend, turning an empty classroom into an Alice in Wonderland-themed experience for NYP’s Open House in 2024.
Shallini’s team created an Alice in Wonderland–themed “escape room” that helped prospective students learn more about the Diploma in Interaction Design.
The interactive experience comprised both physical and digital elements and piqued many secondary school students’ interest in the course.
From crafting whimsical installations to designing an interactive touchscreen, Shallini and her team poured everything they learnt over the past three years into the project – to great success. “The students who visited went, ‘Wow, this is so cool,’ and were very amazed. A few even came up to ask if they’d get to create something like this in the course.”
The path less travelled
While the diploma’s curriculum equipped Shallini with skills in web, app, and installation design, it was her internship at fashion company MGP Label – where she shot products, edited videos, and hosted livestreams – that ignited her interest in content creation.
That experience made NYP’s Work-Study Diploma in Digital Content Creation for E-Commerce the natural next step for Shallini to take after her graduation in May 2025. Unlike many of her peers who headed straight to university, she chose to enter the workforce while continuing her studies, unafraid to carve out her own path.
“I will go to university when I’m comfortable, but it’s not time for me yet. Everyone has a different path, and I want to pursue work life and see what’s out there,” says Shallini.
As part of the programme, she spends one day a week in class and four days working at J&P Holdings, a partner company assigned by the school. What struck her most is the various ways interaction design and content creation complement each other.
From optimising the brand’s websites for conversions to trend jacking on social media, Shallini delights in the opportunity to apply what she has learnt – and is learning – in real time. As a Gen Z digital native, she also helped the brand reach younger audiences by fronting its TikTok channel with her energetic personality.
“This path has given me many opportunities to be who I am – loud and crazy in everything I do. Thank goodness I chose to stay on it, because it really opened up the world for me,” she says, adding that, “Singapore’s education system is great. Everything connects somehow, and you don’t get lost in the middle.”
Her journey also shapes her advice to students who may feel disheartened by their JAE postings: When one door closes, another opens. Having walked that path and come out stronger, Shallini says she now feels as though she is “gleaming on the inside”.
If she could, she would step back in time – à la Alice Through the Looking Glass – to that January morning, just to show her younger self the person she would one day grow into. “I hope she can just see me, and see that she’s going to be fine.”
Photos courtesy of: Shallini Siva Kuma
