Personal Statement: Take 2

When I was schooling, knowledge was placed into 2 vast categories. The sciences; of which there were 3, physics, chemistry and biology, and the Arts; namely geography, history and literature. That seemed to be all the world knew about. From our peers we knew there were those who were science oriented (me included), where math and numbers were fun, and then there were those Arts oriented, where essays and remembering huge chunks of dates were their forte. It just seemed so perfect, this classification system.

It was only till I left my formal education till I realised one day to my consternation that I did not know anything about this world at all. On that fateful day my friend had told me he was studying about leather. I did not know that there was such a subject called leather. But indeed there was; different grades of leather comes from different parts of the hide from which it is made. And then my eyes opened to the rest of the things around me. I read up on philosophy, the very building block on which scientific principles stand. In fact, most early scientists were mainly philosophers first. Rene Descartes, my favourite philosopher who came up with the quote "I think therefore I am" also came up with the idea of cartesian geometry.

Indeed the world is much more interesting than I previously thought. There is no way to condense all the knowledge in the world into 2 broad categories of arts and science, it just does not work. Even as I train myself up in scientific endeavours , the practicalities of skills involved in understanding and learning chemistry is transfered into my personal endeavours. In my spare time, I enjoy dabbling in graphic design and even bought hardware and software to practice on. My skills in chemistry will not be wasted as I intend to transfer my knowledge to the workplace where I discovered a field in the chemistry of fragrances. The formulation and creation of olfactic organic compounds is indeed a very exciting prospect for me as it combines both the arts and sciences which I love. Hopefully I will be able to make a career out of this fascinating yet challenging industry.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
- Robert Frost
The Road Not Taken

Job application letter

left out my details on purpose. I'll try putting up a 2nd draft at a later date

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Aaron Thong Zhenghui
** *******
Singapore ********
Telephone: 9*******

3 Sep, 09

Germaine Tay Mei Yu
Administrative Officer
School of Science and Technology, Singapore
5 Clementi Ave 6
Singapore 129835

Dear Ms Tay,

I am writing to express my interest in joining your school as a chemistry teacher. I am currently pursuing my undergraduate studies at the National University of Singapore, expecting to graduate with a B.Sc (Chemistry) Hons. at the end of the academic year 09/10.

I come to you with prior work experience as a teacher, having been employed as a relief chemistry teacher in Anglo Chinese Junior College where I worked for 6 months after I completed my national service stint. I have also worked as a tutor in chemistry and biology to students both in the O and A level standards. Having been exposed to the standards and rigours which teaching entails, I am confident that I have the skills and creativity required to fulfil this challenging job scope.

The School of Science and Technology (SST), although new, promises to be a dynamic player in educating and nurturing bright young minds. To achieve this, educators need creativity and a strong passion for teaching, qualities of which I can bring to your school. I am confident that my skills will be of use in nurturing the next generation of our children.

I would appreciate the opportunity to meet with you to discuss my qualifications and the possibility of contributing to your firm. I look forward to hearing from you and I thank you for your time.

Yours sincerely,




Aaron Thong Zhenghui