Shannon Chong Xin Yu (22S10)

Through sorrow and hardship, Shannon Chong Xin Yu remained a pillar of strength, inspiring her peers with her resilience and unwavering positivity.

Overcoming Tragedy with Inner Fortitude and Gratitude

When asked what memory from her childhood has led to the person she is today, Shannon Chong repeats a piece of advice her elder sister gave to her when she was in primary school, which was to be independent and proactive. Reminiscing about her sister – a role model whom Shannon describes as a “best friend you like to quibble with”, she describes how she had taught her resilience and to take courage in the face of naysayers.

Shannon remembers vividly how her sister never treated her as a clueless child, but would ask for her opinion and advice about certain matters in their lives despite her young age. These experiences moulded Shannon to become an independent and mature girl who was there for her family when tragedy struck in 2023. Shannon’s resilience and inner fortitude was indeed put to the test when she had to take time off from school to travel overseas with her parents to deal with the aftermath.

On that fateful day – 17 April 2023, Shannon received a message from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) that was meant for her father, stating that there was something they had to inform him about her sister – an NUS undergraduate who was away for her school exchange programme. Shannon recalls being initially sceptical about the identity of the sender, but eventually got confirmation from her mother that her sister had gotten into an accident overseas. Little did Shannon expect that the injuries her sister sustained had proven to be fatal. It was only after multiple parties started contacting her that she realised something could be amiss. What happened next was a three-week long series of events that took Shannon away from school in order to help her parents communicate with representatives from MFA, NUS and the authorities from New Zealand.

But before Shannon and her family could fly to New Zealand to repatriate her sister’s body, they needed to first wait for the New Zealand authorities to identify the body. The long wait was a frustrating one for the family. Naturally, all they wanted was to get to where her sister was. Not only did Shannon have to break the news of the delay to her parents, she also had to juggle with the liaison with various organisations. Hoping to quicken the process, she proactively reached out to the New Zealand police and found out that they needed her dental records. Shannon shared how every step had unexpectedly become a lengthy drawn-out process. She had mistakenly thought that it would be easy getting the information from the nearby clinics her sister had frequented. However, the numerous calls made had proven to be futile. None had her X-ray records since she had come in only for teeth whitening. The complicated process had evolved to Shannon contacting her sister’s ex-schoolmate – a dentist who had taken her dental x-ray in the past – to guessing her sister’s iCloud password for photo access of the x-ray as she sieved through the thousands of photographs. It took a really long time before she could finally get back to the authorities late in the night.

This was simply the start. From there, many administrative matters came to the fore and Shannon had to see to a whole range of tasks such as insurance claims and cremation services. Her parents were in deep sorrow and Shannon decided to take up the responsibility of the main contact personnel and to pass on the information from the various organisations to her parents for their authorisation. She recalled, “I was the tech-savvy one in the family and it would be easier If I was the one doing the communication.” Admittedly, Shannon had put her feelings aside as she prioritised these matters and her family’s well-being, “It felt like working as a full-time personal assistant as I replied to emails throughout the day. I did not have time for my emotions or to grieve.” Eventually, Shannon’s family decided to cremate her sister’s body in New Zealand as the body was “not in good condition” and the cost of repatriation was extremely high. She recounts that “during the process [of dealing with the cremation], I felt that I had to carry a lot of responsibilities talking to various personnel from MFA, NUS, ISOS, insurance companies, police officers from New Zealand, University of Otago etc.”. In addition, Shannon faced many who doubted her ability to deal with matters due to her young age, and she also had to worry about the expenses her family would be incurring overseas.

Looking back on that time in her life now, Shannon highlights that the lessons of independence and courage imparted by her sister came in handy then. “I was motivated to finish those matters no matter how exhausted I was mentally and physically because I believed that this was the only thing I can do for my [family] at that point in time”. When asked about how she coped and whether she has found closure, Shannon simply says that “I did not have much time to confront my feelings and sort them out. Even now, I am still trying to give myself closure since I have been busy with school ever since I got back from the incident and as I am sharing about my thoughts and feelings through this interview, it is sort of giving me closure to this incident as well. I did not realise that so much time had gone by since I have been busy and thus did not have much time to process the grief. I am thankful to many of my friends and family that offered me their support during that time, be it checking up on me or helping me with administrative matters. They were the ones who supported me through this incident the most. I am lucky to have them”. She is especially grateful for having a relative who provides funeral services, and how he came to help and advise her family regarding funeral services.

Shannon also fondly remembers how various members of the JPJC community came together to support and comfort her during and after her three weeks away from school. “My Civics Tutors (CT), Miss Ng Yee Leen and Miss Ang Shu Zhen came to the funeral and gave their condolences. It was nice seeing them after weeks of missing school. It felt like I was going to return to school, and everything will go back to normal again. My friends also came to the funeral to pay their respects and look out for me. I really appreciated that. On the academic side, my friends helped me collect worksheets for my different subjects and wrote notes for me which I also really appreciated. My teachers offered me consultations as well as checked up on me from time to time [after I returned to college]”.

Miss Eileen Toh, her Chemistry tutor at JPJC, recalls Shannon’s resilience and desire to catch up with her studies during and after the three weeks of being away. Miss Toh remembers how everything seemed to be “business as usual” for Shannon, and how Shannon came back as the same responsible, proactive, and mature Class Manager and “never cracked” in the catching up of work and build-up to the A Levels. Miss Toh also recalls being impressed by how Shannon requested for Zoom calls in order to listen in to Chemistry lessons during the funeral service time after missing several weeks of lessons. Miss Ng, also highlighted how she came back and resumed her role as a “mini-CT” for her tutor after being away for three weeks to deal with her family tragedy. Miss Ng also points out that Shannon was the best Class Manager she has ever had at JPJC, especially when it came to maturity and efficiency in dealing with Shannon’s classmates and student-related administrative matters, a similar skillset and mindset she had displayed and honed during the time she was dealing with the family tragedy. When told what Miss Ng, Miss Toh and her peers thought of her resilience and inner fortitude during that difficult time, Shannon coolly responds with “I wanted to catch up on my studies because I know I am not doing well enough for my desired score for A levels. I felt the need to be more disciplined as I realised how close death is to us. I am more motivated to live life to the fullest because I want to have no regrets”.

Shannon certainly walks the talk when it comes to not wanting to have any regrets as she was one who would boldly try new things at JPJC. When asked what motivates her, she quips that “the fact that life is full of unpredictable events makes me excited to know what will come next. I look forward to good experiences that will come my way and bad experiences that gives me a chance to learn something new once I overcome it”. She shares that she “wanted to try H2 Computing as a subject and JPJC is one of the few schools that offer those with no experience to take it”. She also had no experience in playing the guitar prior to joining JPJC’s Guitar Ensemble and brings up how she had “always been interested in picking up the guitar since [she had] one at home that [was] unused, [and she] wanted to make something out of it”. When asked about why she would want to take on a new CCA on top of picking a new subject in JC, she once again plays it off by stating, “I have always enjoyed being in a performing arts CCA. In [Guitar Ensemble], I struggled with CCA sessions because I had no prior experience to playing the guitar and I could only read the musical score because I remembered my primary school music lessons that taught us how to read the notes. I had to practice my [guitar] fingering until I had blisters. However, I had lots of fun overcoming the hardships with my CCA mates and I really enjoyed playing the guitar with them. The memories of staying back in school, being excited for certain CCA events, dreading some CCA sessions together makes it a very meaningful journey for me. This is what I have always enjoyed in Performing Arts CCA.”.

But far from being caught up with her own struggles and praise from others, Shannon also brings up the things she was grateful for when it came to JPJC’s staff and her peers. With regards to computing, “the college gave me many opportunities to partake in computing competitions/hackathons, as well as an opportunity to be an open house ambassador and class manager. The competitions have helped me deepened my understanding and experiences to computing as a subject. Gaining this knowledge has allowed me to be more confident in knowing what I want in the future.” She also adds how little things like the college being attentive to students’ needs regarding fewer uniform wearing days, new games introduced in PE that she enjoyed playing with her friends, as well as the little chats of well wishes and goodbyes with the canteen vendors as she left college all leaving warm memories of JPJC for her even after she has finished her A Levels.

Post A Levels, Shannon’s desire to try and learn new things has not waned. Making the most out of the adversity and tragedy she has experienced, and keeping the wise words of her sister close to her heart, she is in the midst of learning driving, visiting various university open houses, checking up on university courses, picking up a new programming language to boost her competency in coding, catching up with many old friends, celebrating festivals wholesomely with loved ones, supporting friends going through tough times, picking up baking, beautifying and taking care of herself more, and all while seeking for part time jobs at the same time. Her choice in picking up Computer Science has also paid off, as she wants to pursue a course related to Computer Science at the tertiary level, with an eye on being a Computer Scientist in the future.

“Brave the odds, blaze the trail” is a line found in Jurong Pioneer Junior College’s (JPJC) college anthem, and Shannon Chong exemplifies this in the eyes of her peers, teachers and staff at JPJC. For her juniors, as well as those going through hard times or adversity in life, Shannon has this piece of advice to share: “If you feel like you are at the rock bottom of your life, you should be more motivated to overcome the current obstacle because what is next will definitely be better. If you have experienced the downs in life, it is only fair to let yourself experience the ups in life as well. So push through till then, all the best!”