SINGAPORE - Madam Sandra Ho waited 20 years and endured three rejections, but her wish came true in 2005, when she received the acceptance letter from the Ministry of Education for her to teach.
She did not hesitate in taking up the offer, even when it meant getting an 80 per cent pay cut, and giving up a successful career in the private sector.
The 49-year-old was formerly a director for Asia Pacific Business Management at Seagate Technology International, and is now teaching English, mathematics, science and social studies at Zhangde Primary School.
She told the Straits Times that teaching had always been her first choice because she loved being with children. Madam Ho is married to a civil servant, and has two daughters, aged 19 and 12.
Madam Ho graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in sociology and statistics from the National University of Singapore in the 1980s, and applied to be a teacher thrice. But all her applications were rejected. She suspects it was because her majors were not teaching subjects.
Finally in 2005, she decided to give it one last shot. But the transition from boardroom to classroom was a drastic one.
She and her family had to cut down on dining out at upmarket restaurants and hotels, and they also stayed at cheaper hotels when on holiday.
The work was also very different, with its own set of problems, Madam Ho admitted. But she says "it's how you juggle it and your personal interest and passion that will help you to handle it.
-AsiaOne-via MChronicle
No comments:
Post a Comment