Unlike many undergraduates, Kenneth Sng, a sophomore majoring in economics in Arts & Sciences, knows what he’ll be doing after graduation — working in public service in Singapore.
“I will be assigned to a ministry based on my preference,” Sng says. He’s interested in many fields including education.
Sng is one of Singapore’s prestigious Public Service Commission (PSC) scholars. The scholarship is typically awarded to fewer than 100 students per year (out of a pool of more than 2,000) and covers four years of undergraduate education and a master’s program anywhere in the world.
Singapore’s current prime minister and other high-ranking public officials have received the PSC scholarship, which requires six years of public service after college.
“Knowing that I will be working in the public sector after graduation has made me a lot more focused and deliberate when it comes to choosing my classes,” says Sng, who is president of the Singapore Student’s Association and budget committee chair for the Student Union Treasury.
Sng is grateful for the scholarship for another reason. “I come from a less well-off family,” he says. “It would not be possible for me to even be at WashU without the scholarship.”