When he was a student in Anglo Chinese (Barker Road) Primary and Secondary schools, Danny said that he was always at the bottom of his class. His poor PSLE results landed him in the Normal (Academic) class in secondary school. At Secondary 2, he was promoted to the Express class. However, when he failed six out of seven subjects in Secondary 3, Danny had to be retained. "I felt very miserable and cried. My dad didn't speak to me for one month," he recalls. That was the turning point in Danny's life.

Repeating his Secondary 3 year, Danny pushed himself very hard. After his O levels, he went to Jurong Junior College for the first three months and later joined TP to pursue the Diploma in Internet Computing. The son of a businessman and a nurse, TP was familiar ground to Danny as his sister was a TP graduate.

Although the initial days at TP were lonely ones, the flexible academic architecture here made it necessary to network and soon, Danny made many good friends across various disciplines. Through his three years, he prided himself on never taking MC and never missing any lesson despite breaking his collar bone and not being able to hold a pen just before his first year term test. Such was Danny's determination to do well. "After my failure in Secondary 3, I promised myself that I would always be consistent and put in my best effort," he says.

Danny demonstrated this same fervour in his co-curricular activities. His true love is bowling which he picked up in Secondary 3. While at TP, he took on the roles of vice-captain and captain at different times. His proudest moment was when in his third year, the boys' team shocked seasoned bowlers and hot favourites, National University of Singapore and Nanyang Technological University, by winning the Gold medal at the Institute-Varsity-Polytechnic Games.

"In bowling, you have to be consistent. I believe this helped me focus and concentrate on my studies as well. I feel that when you are passionate about what you do, it will motivate you to do your best and continue improving," says Danny, whose greatest inspiration is his father. While waiting to begin National Service in July, the resourceful young man is taking on website designing and photography projects. His 8 distinctions, 13 A's and 3 B's have already earned him a place in the National University of Singapore to pursue a degree in computer science. Failure has indeed taught Danny a lifelong lesson, but more importantly, he has proven that he can rise.

ALL-ROUNDER AWARD
The All-Rounder Award gives commendation and recognition to a student who excels both in his studies and co-curricular activities. The Award, which is sponsored by Microsoft Singapore, is presented to the student who has outstanding academic results as well as outstanding participation and contribution in co-curricular activities.