SINGAPORE: Earlier this week, Anjani Sinha, the United States Ambassador to Singapore, put up a photo with Charlene Tan, a recipient of the Singapore Presidential Scholarship.
Dr Sinha wrote in an Aug 27 (Thursday) Facebook post that he met Ms Tan at an event hosted by President Tharman Shanmugaratnam.
Charlene Tan Rui Xian is the first female recipient of the scholarship in the history of the Singapore police, and was the first person in her family to join the force.
As a Presidential scholar, Ms Tan is now in her first year reading Forensic Science (Chemistry) at Penn State University.
Dr Sinha noted in his post that after she graduates, Ms Tan will return to work for the Singapore Police Force.
“The Singapore government sends its best and brightest to study in the United States to become the next generation of leaders. I’m proud to see Singapore looking to America as it invests in its young people,” he wrote.
The President’s Scholarship Award Ceremony was held at the Istana on Aug 14.
Ms Tan’s journey
The young awardee is a graduate of Hwa Chong Institution, where, according to a write-up on the SPF website, her conviction to join the force was solidified.
“I recognised that I felt most aimless when unsettled by injustice that I was powerless against. This gave me a renewed sense of purpose: to act against injustice, fight for what’s right and make the empathetic choice,” she was quoted as saying.
Ms Tan’s grandfather was scammed twice, and seeing him experience losing not just his savings but his dignity made a deep impression on her.
Fortunately, her family has been supportive of her decision, and after training with the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF), at the Jungle Confidence Course in Brunei and the Officer Cadet School, she’s well on her way to realising her goals.
She said that her degree from Penn State will strengthen her “grasp of different criminal justice systems in the world; their significance and their blind spots. It trains me to analyse crime critically whilst retaining my empathy for those it affects – a quality that officers need.” /TISG
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