Daily Lessions from Life 17 December 2013 - 'How being blind helped me succeed': S'pore woman's remarkable story

"'How being blind helped me succeed': S'pore woman's remarkable story - Dec 16, 2013 Her World

SINGAPORE - If Sze Ling looks familiar, it's probably because you saw her on television during this year's National Day Rally.

She was the blind research scientist who famously made Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong tear up with emotion as he described how she had trounced the odds to achieve three degrees in Mathematics, including a PhD.

In fact, months before the rally, Her World had named the 35-year-old our Young Woman Achiever.

For several days in June, we visited her home and office in A*Star's Insititute for Infocomm Research, and got her to relate this intimate account of her life."

It is a REMARKABLE story indeed and I did not know much after her even though she was thrown into the national TV audience's views on that fateful NDR night by PM Lee.

So, it is inspiring to learn of her journey from losing her sight around the age of 4 to the time she was recognized for her many contributions and achievements.

Lessons for me and the attributes and things I am impressed by her are:
1. her sense of gratefulness to others who had helped her in anyway imaginable - small and big;

2. her realization and responses to the kindness extended by giving back in volunteering work and championing the cause of the visually impaired;
3. her humility in acknowledging that whatever she has achieved thus far is not her only efforts, though I must say it is really the MAIN reason, but for the many kind hearted and generous people she met along the journey of life. e.g. her family, her classmates, her friends, her teachers and lecturers, her employers, the strangers who helped her in anyway (thankfully all good intention people), etc;

4. her own intellectual capability and surely determination and self-belief to succeed by looking for solutions to problems, etc.

I salute her and am truly happy for her that she is at peace with whatever she has, and achieved. I know she will achieve even more, not just for herself, but also the many visually impaired people, and inspiring ordinary people like us.