SUSS Unbound Newsletter

BLOGS

UNBOUND brings together stories that don’t follow a single path – shaped by real-world challenges, lived experience, and the ideas that emerge along the way. From research to community impact, these are the stories behind SUSS.

Keep up-to-date by subscribing to our monthly LinkedIn newsletter.

Subscribe on LinkedIn

Who Shapes the People Who Shape Singapore?

14 Aug 2026|3 Mins Read

For years, SUSS alumna Ms Lee Zi Xuan saw herself as someone who was “not academically inclined”. Even when she was doing well at SUSS, that belief did not go away. 

“Perhaps it wasn’t my grades, but the label I was carrying that felt out of place,” she reflects. 

Two lecturers helped her question that label: Dr Goh Boon Yeow, who taught her introductory psychology, and Mr Mohd Ali Mahmood, a social work faculty member. 

Their encouragement did more than help Ms Lee succeed in university. It changed what she thought was possible for herself. 

Seeing Potential Before She Did 

Dr Goh was the first to encourage her to apply for the SUSS Mid-Term Scholarship. 

“It came at a time when I saw more limitations than possibilities in myself,” she says. “But he gave me the courage to step beyond the boundaries I had unknowingly placed on myself and around my potential.” She went on to receive the scholarship. 

Dr Goh offering Ms Lee guidance and encouragement as she navigates her studies at SUSS. 
 
For Ms Lee, the experience forced her to reconsider something she had believed about herself since she was young: perhaps being “not academically inclined” was not true after all. 

Dr Goh understood why some students might feel this way. Having spent much of his own education as a part-time student, he knew what it meant to study while managing other responsibilities. That experience stayed with him in the way he supported students who questioned whether they belonged in a classroom. 

Mr Ali encouraged Ms Lee in a different way. 

When she told him she hoped to become an educator one day, he did not treat it as an unrealistic ambition. Instead, he spoke to her about what the path would involve and helped her see that it was something she could work towards. 

Mr Ali sharing his experience with Ms Lee as she explores her path towards becoming an educator. 
 
For Ms Lee, those conversations mattered because they came at a time when she was still learning to see herself differently. Both lecturers had benefited from similar encouragement earlier in their own lives, and that influenced how they approached their students. “At the start of each module, I always remind my students that they are my legacy in this field,” Mr Ali says. For Ms Lee, that support stayed with her long after the classroom. 

Carrying It Into Her Work 

Today, Ms Lee works as a social worker, supporting patients and families through difficult circumstances. Part of her work involves helping people who feel defined by something that has happened to them, or by choices they have made in the past. 

It is a feeling she understands only too well. 

Having once carried a limiting idea about herself, Ms Lee now supports others who question the labels they had unknowingly placed on themselves. The circumstances may be different, but the instinct is familiar: helping someone see that where they are now does not have to determine where they go next. 

Ms Lee engaging with others in her work as a social worker, where listening and connecting are an important part of supporting those she serves. 

What Dr Goh and Mr Ali gave Ms Lee has gone beyond encouragement and into something she now carries with her as she supports others. Like the faculty members who first saw the potential in her, she hopes to one day become an educator who notices the potential in students too. 

 

You Might be Interested

What If the Job You're Preparing for Doesn't Exist Yet?

Singapore has adapted to every major wave of change. But as artificial intelligence reshapes work at unprecedented speed, can our people adapt quickly enough?

14 Aug 2026|5 Mins Read

Would You Trust a Robot to Look After Someone You Love?

A robot can monitor vitals, deliver medication, keep someone company — and never get tired. So why do so many people still hesitate to trust it with someone they love?

14 Aug 2026|5 Mins Read

The New Career Survival Skill Isn't AI. It's Adaptability.

In her mid-40s, a friend of Dr Charissa Tan's was retrenched twice while working in banking and finance.

15 Jul 2026|4 Mins Read

 


Subscribe to UNBOUND

UNBOUND brings together stories that don’t follow a single path – shaped by real-world challenges, lived experience, and the ideas that emerge along the way. From research to community impact, these are the stories behind SUSS.

Keep up-to-date by subscribing to our monthly LinkedIn newsletter.

Subscribe on LinkedIn