MOST President's Scholars opt to go to the United States or to Britain to further their studies.
But 19-year-old Tan Bao Jia has chosen to absorb herself in Chinese culture, and will be going to Peking University in China to study Economics.
The former Dunman High student council president will be the first President's Scholar to go to China - an emerging world superpower - where she hopes to bring back a better understanding of how the country operates.
This will put Singapore in better stead when doing business with China, she said.
President S R Nathan awarded the nation's most prestigious undergraduate scholarship to Miss Tan and five other youth on Friday evening.
Miss Tan's road to China was not easy, considering that she had to struggle with Chinese Language and Literature lessons. She had taken up the subject for the A-levels, but never imagined that 'it would be so hard to love it'.
'And when you don't love it, it's hard to do well in it,' she said
However, she credits her teachers for making the subject so interesting that she scored an A for it.
Another scholar who didn't have it easy was Mr Nicholas Tay Weizhe, who was no straight-A student at first.
'Just look at my O-level grades,' he said, referring to the B3s he received for English and Music, as well as the A2 for Higher Chinese.
His father, a crane operator, had told the then-Secondary Three student that he could only afford to send either him or his younger brother to university overseas, and that if he had really wanted to go, he would have to earn a scholarship.
That became Mr Tay's goal, which was realised on Friday night at the ceremony in the Istana.
In his speech, President Nathan said that the scholarship, meant to groom 'visionary' leaders, 'demands a commitment from you (the scholars) to serve your nation and fellow citizens'.
He called on them to 'learn new things about the world and about yourself', while keeping themselves immersed in community work, even while they were busy studying overseas.
This would help them understand and empathise with 'the concerns of ordinary people', which would aid them when they return to Singapore to serve in the public service.
1. Miss Gan Su Yi
From: Singapore Chinese Girls' School and National Junior College
Heading for: University College, London, in Britain to study Economics
2. Miss Claire Soon Jing Min
From: Nanyang Girls' High School and Hwa Chong Institution
Heading for: Oxford University in Britain to study History
3. Miss Tan Bao Jia
From: Dunman High School
Heading for: Peking University in China to study Economics
4. Mr Jonathan Au Yong Kok Kong
From: Raffles Institution and Raffles Junior College
Heading for: Yale University in the United States to study Ethics, Politics and Economics
5. Mr Nicholas Tay Weizhe
From: Catholic High School and Victoria Junior College
Heading for: London School of Economics and Political Science to study International Relations and History
6. Mr Alexander Joseph Woon Wei-Ming
From: St John's International School in Belgium, and Raffles Junior College
Heading for: Cambridge University in Britain to study law
