Rukhsana Bi (21A07)

Rukhsana Bi D/O Abdul Wahid grew up in a close knitted family and the biggest turning point in her life came about when her dad passed away suddenly in December 2021, just as she was going to start her final year of the A Level course. That had a huge impact on her as he had always been her role model. Her dad would be the one proudest of even the smallest of her achievements and one poignant memory she has was in primary school when she did well in spelling test. She fondly remembers his words of encouragement “Steady lah!” Her dad would continuously push her to become a better person and student, always reminding Rukhsana, “You don’t just dream, you must put in hard work!”

The fact that everything happened so quickly greatly impacted the entire family. It affected Rukhsana the most because she had to grapple with preparing for the A Levels while having to deal with that traumatic experience. “I found it really difficult to focus on school work, especially for the first term in JC2. I was in shambles and struggling to pick myself up,” she recalls with heavy emotion. “My dad was the parent that handled all my academics, and so without him, I was left to discipline myself and set my own expectations. It was difficult to say the least,” she continues.

While his passing came as a shock, the immense support from her teachers, friends and CCA-mates helped her to slowly overcome her grief. Rukhsana recounts, “But after going through much counselling I managed to pull myself together and started studying for the exams.” What truly counted was the fact that her teachers immediately rallied around her, making sure that she was well-supported. Her Civics Tutors as well as her Malay Language and Literature teachers attended the funeral and the care then was deeply appreciated by her. When she returned to school, all her teachers were fully understanding of the fact that she might need extensions on her holiday assignments and told her to focus on feeling better rather than the deadlines. “My English Literature teacher, Ms Zaleena, told me to take my time to do it and to not worry about the deadline, which I really appreciated. She continued to show her support by being warm and kind to me always,” Rukhsana adds.

Rukhsana shares that she especially loves Jurong Pioneer Junior College’s (JPJC) homely vibes, and even the canteen aunties and uncles are “super nice”. “While the JC environment can be competitive, it is balanced by the care for students’ mental well-being as the teachers would always be there to support, engage and to celebrate with us”, she recalls. One incident that clearly touched Rukhsana was when her Malay Dance teacher, Mdm Siti Khadijah, took the trouble to specially retrieve the water bottle that she left behind in the dance studio and return it to Rukhsana right before the start of her first period lesson the next morning. Though seemingly small, such genuine tokens of care that Rukhsana experienced helped her to feel better as she adjusted to life after the passing of her dad.

Interestingly, Rukhsana’s dad played a part in her enrolment into JPJC. One day, after reading in the papers of Mdm Siti Khadijah who won the Most Caring Teacher Award, he shared with her how nice it would be if Rukhsana were to study at JPJC.  Rukhsana had always wanted to be a part of the Malay Language Elective Programme (MLEP) since her secondary school days. Ethnically, even though Rukhsana is not Malay, she had grown up speaking Malay at home, and found it comfortable to converse in the language from young. Passionate about the culture of the ‘orang lauts’ and ‘kampung life’ in the 60s, she reasoned that MLEP would provide the platform for her to better understand Malay culture especially how Malay words and sentences are crafted to express complex human emotions and experiences. In fact, Rukhsana found that Malay music and the song lyrics enabled her to express her emotions better. That great desire came to fruition when Rukhsana was accepted into JPJC and awarded the MLEP scholarship. Serendipitously, Mdm Siti Khadijah became her tutor – in a way life comes full circle – fulfilling her father’s wishes.

Given her talent in the study of Malay language and culture and as a scholar, she was provided many valuable opportunities to lead her cohort in various Malay language and cultural events. Rukhsana represented the college at various events, even amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Her involvement in the MLEP Immersion Programme, the MLEP Literature Camp and the MLEP JPJC-RVHS Sec 2 Conversational Malay Twinning Programme where she planned and conducted sessions to share about Malay language and culture and inspire younger students on how they helped strengthen her bond with the Malay community.

Rukhsana also acknowledges that her active participation in the MLEP Graduation Showcase 2022 had truly transformed her as she had to dabble in both acting and stage management which was a truly novel and enriching experience for her. Reflecting, Rukhsana also feels the MLEP programme has many practical aspects by offering topics such as financial literacy and work shadowing. She grew from strength to strength, honing her capabilities and skills.

Rukhsana bloomed further, developing a strong sense of conviction that women can play a much bigger role in today’s society. Through the Arts and Social Sciences programme, 4PM Ministerial Dialogue 2021 and the MLEP Scholars Dialogue with Community Leaders 2021, Rukhsana had the privilege of meeting many distinguished individuals such as Senior Minister Tharman Shamugaratnam, Mr Zulkhamain Abdul Rahim Advisor to Keat Hong GROs and Mdm Rahayu Mahzam Senior Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Health.  But it is the conversation with Mdm Rahayu that was especially impactful to Rukhsana because overcoming the challenges that Mdm Rahayu faced as a hijab-wearing Malay woman working in a male-dominated field greatly empowered Rukhsana to dream of venturing into the lesser charted paths. Those remarks highly resonated with Rukhsana as her dad had always espoused that women should not be necessarily confined to the kitchen but they should be empowered to choose their own life paths. Rukhsana led her team to give a winning presentation on the domestic abuse of women during the pandemic which won them the First Prize team placing while she attained the Outstanding Delegate Award in the Harvard Innovation challenge for Southeast Asia III in 2021. That further strengthened her aim to champion for and help the less able. “What I learnt is that these great opportunities given to me should be used meaningfully, and to contribute back to the society”, Rukhsana reflects. Rukhsana hopes to read Law at the National University of Singapore or Singapore Management University.

Hungry for challenges and to broaden her horizons and step out of her comfort zone, Rukhsana who had always been a performing arts student since secondary school decided to make the switch and choose Outdoor Activities Club (ODAC) as she also liked being outdoors especially hiking as it is extremely healing for her. As the President of ODAC, Rukhsana represented JPJC at the Hwa Chong Institution Outdoor Education Forum 2021. Her most memorable experience was during the COVID-19 pandemic where she and her Exco had to design innovative online activities making it fun to engage members, ‘acting’ like they were in the outdoors. Looking back on this memory, Rukhsana reflects that the opportunity had enriched her to be a more patient and understanding leader, while being firm and decisive when the needs arise.

“This is your last year, you have to focus!” Always bearing in mind this last text from her dad, Rukhsana, not wanting to disappoint her dad, she focused on his words as a source of inspiration and motivation to propel herself forward. This not only serves to guide Rukhsana, but she also strongly wishes to share with her juniors, that “You should truly live your life as you can only live as a 17- and 18-year-old once. Always be appreciative of the people around you and the hard work you put in will be the testimony of who you are.”