ZANDER WIDJAJA
Zander shares how Outram Secondary helped him grow from an average student into a confident achiever, excelling in both water polo and his O-level results.
I came from a place, where I was rather mediocre, unambitious and average. My PLSE T-score was 203. I wanted change, I wanted to be different. I did not want to remain average, and thus I attempted to push myself in Outram. Outram provided me with a path which brought me to greater heights and placed me in a position where I could develop my character.
My journey in Outram was the defining event that helped to shape the person that I am today. I feel that Outram, as a school, and as a community, played a crucial role in developing a strong and mature value system within myself.
I initially came from a position where I lacked self-confidence and self-belief, but it was Outram which gave me the avenues for me to achieve success, both academically and in sports.
I was inspired to train hard, only due to the vision that Mr Tang had placed in our minds. The idea that one day, we could stand a chance of being champions, of being people who were achievers.
This spurred me into action, into committing myself every single day to improve and train until the very end.
Similarly, I used the discipline that water polo had imbued in me and applied to my studies. I focused on my goal and placed a strong vision within my mind. Then I took action and kept consistent with my work. I feel that this eventually led me to attain 8 points for the O level examinations.
I am wholeheartedly indebted to the teachers in Outram for guiding me, especially Mr Tang, Ms Melissa, Mrs Fan, Mrs Lui and Mr Ajmal for making my experience in Outram so wonderful, filling it with joy and fulfilment. Thank you for providing me with all the opportunities to develop myself.
A quote that I live by is, “ We suffer more in imagination than in reality.” I think that has provided me with an immense amount of strength and resilience over the past four years.
Zander Widjaja
2018