Lim Si Hui Kelsey
Diploma in Biomedical Science (DBS)
Awards:
Lee Kuan Yew Award
The Military Scientist
When she was just a Primary 2 student, Lim Si Hui Kelsey’s interest in science was sparked by reading the popular “The Young Scientists” children’s magazine. Her interest grew exponentially so much so that she opted to enrol for science enrichment classes a full year before her peers. In secondary school, the Nan Hua High School alumna studied Biology and Chemistry and became fascinated with the functions of the human body. This subsequently led her to pursue a Diploma in Biomedical Science at Singapore Polytechnic (SP).
During her time at SP, Kelsey participated in an elective module programme developed in conjunction with Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH). Together with students from different diploma courses and levels, she was part of a team that assisted TTSH to brainstorm and pilot programmes to encourage hospitalised elderly to finish their food. Her team came up with redesigning mealtimes, cutlery, and utensils into a game. This was done to engage and keep the elderly entertained, giving them some excitement while they had their meals.
It was an eye-opening encounter for Kelsey, as she witnessed first-hand the difficulties that healthcare workers go through daily. She also realised that their work extends far beyond just making sure patients are taken care of by receiving the proper medication. The experience prompted her to volunteer for two hours each week at TTSH, where she interacted mainly with elderly patients. Kelsey was humbled to learn they found joy in just chit-chatting and sharing their personal life stories with her. This forged a greater sense of empathy in her as she was able to bring happiness to a person’s life through simple acts of kindness and service.
One of the most memorable achievements that Kelsey remembers is clinching First and Second places for the 500m and 1000m K4 races respectively during the Canoe Sprint POL-ITE (Polytechnic-ITE) Competition. The competition taught her the true meaning of how hard work pays off. During that period, she had to attend training sessions at MacRitchie Reservoir daily before going to school and even frequented the gym at 6 pm on certain days. She learnt to be more disciplined and resilient, having to commit to the gruelling preparations despite being exhausted. All the hard work, sweat, and tears paid off when she and her teammates crossed the finishing line.
Since young, her favourite movies were from the action, crime, and mystery genres. This meant that majority of the shows she watched involved some sort of military or special operations groups. Coupled with the fact that she enjoyed being in a high commitment CCA, where discipline was key, Kelsey began her search for an exciting and adventurous career.
Stars aligned when she was offered the opportunity to intern with national defence research agency DSO National Laboratories, where she interacted with various defence personnel and was attracted by the meaningful leadership opportunities that a career in defence could offer.
Kelsey has applied for a SAF Merit scholarship and plans to study Anatomy, Developmental & Human Biology at King’s College London, the UK.
An obvious leader who continuously pushes herself to improve, Kelsey only has a bright future to look forward to.