National Young Leaders’ Day Women’s Edition 2012: Your passion makes you great

“Nobody cares if you can’t dance well. Just get up and dance. Great dancers are not great because of their technique; they are great because of their passion.” –Martha Graham, American Choreographer

This is true for many areas of our lives; whether the passion is nature, wildlife, a nation’s security or chocolate, passion fuelled technique. it is what drove four women to do all they could to reach their goals.

These four women, Sim Yi Hui (Co-Leader of the Singapore All- Women’s Everest Team), Cheng Shun Ling (Co-founder of Life List Chase), LTC Goh Jerica (Executive Officer of RSS Intrepid [frigate]) and Lyn Lee (Co-owner of Awfully Chocolate), inspired 583 students and 41 educators from 21 schools on the fourth National Young Leaders’ Day Women’s Edition.

Held at Kallang Theatre and graced by Guest-of-Honour Madam Halimah Yacob, Minister of State, Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports, it was a morning full of colour. Students from Crescent Girls’ School shined with their song numbers on stage, and after being inspired by the speakers, students were given the chance to put their hands to the plough with our Action Partners which included the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) Singapore, World Vision Singapore and Blessings in a Bag.

All this was to encourage students to Design Our Future — the event’s theme. Globally over the years, the balance of gender equality has vastly improved in many countries. Never before have women made headlines like they have in 2011. In Singapore we are fortunate to have seen the growth in the emancipation of women; how can we use that privilege responsibly?

Hearing from women role models, young women had the sense that the “baton” was being passed to them — the emerging generation of young women leaders. in turn, it was for them to realise that they could design the future — the future they share with others — by using their strengths and living out their dreams. The event received plenty of positive feedback. One of the participants, Jennifer Wong, commented, “This has caused me to realise the role that females can and should play in society and has driven me to discover my true potential”. Another student, Sophie Tan, remarked, “I really feel like it has opened many new doors for me and given me a new perspective on so many new things. If we just keep at what we love to do, anything’s possible!”

So what exactly was discussed over the conference to get everyone so inspired and enthusiastic about chasing their dreams?

There was a running theme in every story the speakers shared — perseverance. Perseverance in three areas was what pushed these four women to achieve what they have. The first was perseverance in belief.

Awfully Chocolate started from humble, almost bizarre beginnings of having only a single chocolate cake in store. Co-owner Lyn Lee shared, “Everyone told us it can’t be done, but if our logic tells us that we can, then we will do it”. Staying true to their belief, Awfully Chocolate pushed their idea despite naysayers and it has evidently turned out to be an immense success. She concluded that “things have to start with a lot of stubbornness, and start small, especially when people say it can’t be done”.

Sim Yi Hui, Co-leader of the Singapore All-Women’s Everest Team, encouraged everyone to “be bold with your goal”. That advice took her and her team through five years of training and finally, a trip to Mount Everest which was fraught with perils and has claimed over 200 lives to date. They knew of the risk of falling into deep crevasses and even saw an avalanche before their eyes. Yet, Yi Hui and her team scaled the mountain, something that some dream of achieving but are too fearful to take the first step into, and lived to tell the tale.

Their beliefs persevered and was the motivation for the discipline they needed to accomplish their goals. Perseverance in belief spurred perseverance in self-discipline.

“Their beliefs persevered and was the motivation for the discipline they needed to accomplish their goals. Perseverance in belief spurred perseverance in self-discipline.”

These successful ladies have experienced “no pain, no gain”. Joining the Republic of Singapore Navy where fighting Somalian pirates to keep our waters safe is part of the job, LTC Goh Jerica chose an unconventional route many ladies do not imagine taking. However, her open mind, desire to enjoy the experience and being prepared to put in hard work helped Jerica grow her competence, excel, and enjoy what she is doing.

At times when our feet feel too heavy to walk on, we look around beyond discouraging situations to the people around us. it is perseverance with a team of friends that we gather strength and continue striding on.

Sim Yi Hui had a team who trained together, Lyn Lee has a collaborative staff team, LTC Goh Jerica never wants to let down her team on board.

For Cheng Shun Ling, these bonds are not just with her team — her bonds are with, for one, the orangutans in Borneo. Through her photographs, she strives to raise awareness for their loss of habitat from forest fires, and separation from mothers which is giving rise to orphans in the wild. This is the cause that keeps her going.

These ladies took their dreams, fused them with their strengths and are doing their bit to change our world. How about you? As Sim Yi Hui asked, is there an Everest in your life? What will you do to achieve or conquer it?

How will you design our future — the future you and I share?

Here is advice from Cheng Shun Ling, the young photographer at the event whose works have already been published on the National Geographic: “Never give up. Go all out with a passion in what you have, take small steps and plan your life ahead”.

Article by Kristin Loo

National Young Leaders’ Day Women’s Edition (NYLD WE) is an annual conference which seeks expose young ladies in Singapore to inspirational role models who have achieved success in varying arenas. It aims to celebrate the women of today and cultivate the young women leaders of tomorrow. Held in conjuction with International Women’s Day in March, this year’s event was organised in partnership with the Singapore Council of Women’s Organisations and Women’s Register, and supported by Nexus.