Antony Swami Alfred Ben (19S23)

A leader with a heart, Alfred hopes to become an educator and inspire other youth.

SERVING WITH A HEART AND VISION<

Alfred’s time in Jurong Pioneer Junior College (JPJC) was an exciting experience for him. He cherished his experience as the President of the 2nd Student Council (SC) as it afforded him opportunities to grow in different ways and make lasting friendships. His leadership journey was also one fraught with challenges, forcing him to confront his weaknesses and taking deliberate steps to make improvements.

Alfred’s strength is his strong empathetic nature which saw him desiring to build a more inclusive community within the college. This was noticed by the Teacher-Advisors of SC. They remember him as a young man with “his heart in the right place” and someone who was “sensitive to the feelings of others.” After his A levels, Alfred pursued his passion of enhancing inclusivity in society by joining the ‘High Achievers’, a youth development training consultancy. This gave him the opportunity to teach leadership and study skills to students from the Normal Academic (NA) and Normal Technical (NT) classes in two different schools. “I was deeply moved by this experience. One especially memorable episode was with a bunch of rather rambunctious students. I managed to bridge the gulf with them, allowing them to share their personal aspirations with me. One student in particular, made an impression. This student had a tracker on his leg, and I was touched when he opened up and shared with me his ambition of taking up culinary arts and eventually becoming a chef.” Such experiences strengthened Alfred’s resolve to inspire the youth as an educator.

Alfred loves challenges, and when it came to his academic studies, he challenged himself with his weakest subject – Computing. In fact, the Circuit Breaker period was instrumental in deepening his knowledge of the subject. “My friend and I would stay up till the wee hours to work on complex Computing problems. This stoked my passion for Computing.” Alfred hopes to further his education in Computer Science and go on to teach the subject. Alfred’s time in JPJC gave him confidence and further crystalised his vision. He is extremely grateful to the college and the teachers for the opportunities he was given.