'Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.' - Mark Twain
Shona Woo recounts that she was talent scouted by the local TV industry while she was an undergraduate during her final year as a biological chemistry major. Young and eager to explore, she chose to put her technical aspirations of teaching or pursuing a PhD on hold, spending a good five to six years modelling and acting, doing various television commercials and print adverts.
Having that experience, Shona eventually craved something more technical, yet she knew that she did not want to return to a research lab as a chemist. "Honestly, it was a planned progression for me. I never intended to stay long in the modelling industry. I looked around me and realised there were many people picking up programming these days", shares Shona.
From thinking that programming was abstract and difficult, to actually doing. Her push? She knew that if many people could master it, then she wanted to give it a shot too. This grit led her to take up the NUS-ISS' Graduate Diploma in Systems Analysis (GDipSA) programme which propelled her into the world of IT. Says Shona, "The first programming language I picked up was good old fashioned C as I was quite interested in IoT and device programming then. The programme gave me a solid foundation. One thing led to another and I fell in love with the process of programming and engineering."
From GDipSA's 48th batch, the pull factor for Shona was its 1 year commitment - "which seemed about right. The course content included a wide variety of technologies and the internship opportunity as part of this programme was great for gaining industry experience too." adds Shona.
Her internship experience took her to BASF South East Asia where she had to conceptualise, design and engineer a working prototype for a digital tool used to monitor agricultural trials in ASEAN for an APAC business partner. While there were challenges and tight deadlines, Shona's time at NUS-ISS prepared her well for it. She looks back at the camaraderie fondly. "The group projects at NUS-ISS were stressful yet it brought me very close to my group mates. We bonded over the weekends and late nights together. The lecturers were also very kind and patient at taking questions, responding very quickly. Throughout my internship, I also had constant feedback when there were improvements to be made to my reports."
Time and practice yields confidence as Shona completed her internship having overcome her fear of front-end engineering. While having been always more comfortable with back end development, she pushed boundaries and used an angular and ionic front-end framework to complete her project. She now owns close to 100% of the front-end prototype that was built at the end of her internship, recalling it as her proudest moment. Beyond technical skills, Shona's learning journey also led her to pick up valuable soft skills. "I got to see how large organisations like an MNC operate and worked with APAC and ASEAN stakeholders directly. I believe the business and technical skills picked up from this internship can be transferred to any other jobs I go to in future."
And into a bright path she heads. March this year, Shona began her journey as a Quality Assurance Engineer at Shopee, SEA's top e-commerce site with a monthly average of 200.2 million visits on both desktop and mobile gadgets in the second quarter of 2019. Her work involves performing technical design reviews, carrying out performance testing, backend-API testing, bug analysis and tracking for Software Development Life Cycles.
It all began with an aspiration, one of discovery and of great experiences. And to future batches of GDipSA students she attests the learning journey to be most worthwhile, one that will be a launchpad to a fulfilling career.
Click here to find out more about NUS-ISS' GDipSA programme.