SINGAPORE - All she remembers is seeing a bulletin on the billboard below her Housing Board block, but that was enough for Ms Marianne Wang to start her journey of volunteering at just 12 years old.

       She started out tutoring children with non-profit Smart Guppy, and went on to volunteer with Youth Corps – an organisation that gives youth opportunities to serve their community – and at Meet-the-People Sessions (MPS).

       Ms Wang, now 18, said her parents grew up poor, but they worked hard and gave her the comfortable life that she has today. “I grew up having the awareness that someone worked hard to get me to where I am, making it natural for me to give back and not take this privilege for granted,” she said.

       Ms Wang, whose parents both work in the IT industry, is one of three recipients of the 2024 President’s Scholarship. It is awarded to those who are committed to serving the public, have good character, and are dedicated to making life better for Singaporeans.

       This is the most prestigious of all undergraduate awards given out by the Public Service Commission. Ms Wang, who is from Raffles Institution, will be heading to Harvard University in the US to study economics and government.

       She said that meeting diverse groups of people through volunteering or school has inspired her. “People describe me as driven, but this drive comes from the people I’ve met and who I volunteer alongside with,” she added.

       “I see people who are strong in academics, in arts and sports, and I work with the kindest volunteers, and they all add to different parts of me, which has made me a versatile person.”

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       Fellow President’s Scholarship recipients Emily Tan, 19, from Raffles Institution, and Dylan Toh, 20, from Hwa Chong Institution, also started volunteering from a young age.

       Ms Tan and Ms Wang also received the Public Service Commission Scholarship, and Mr Toh the Singapore Police Force scholarship.

       The three recipients spent their youth volunteering, including sitting in on MPS, where the stories they heard spurred them to want to do more for the community.

       Ms Tan, whose mother is in the public service and father a researcher, will study economics at Stanford University in the US.

       Mr Toh, whose father is in the armed forces and mother in the finance industry, will pursue data science at the University of California, Berkeley, in the US.

       They received their scholarship awards from President Tharman Shanmugaratnam at the President’s Scholarship award ceremony held at Shangri-La Hotel on Aug 13. About 60 guests attended the ceremony, including Education Minister and Minister-in-charge of the Public Service Chan Chun Sing, and Mr Tharman’s spouse, Ms Jane Ittogi.

       In his address, Mr Tharman said that while Singapore’s public service is more well known for its incorruptibility, its strength also lies in its constantly evolving capabilities and its rare ability to work across different ministries and sectors.

       These capabilities are needed more than ever in an uncertain world, he said. “The public service in particular will have to be innovative, forward-thinking and constantly responsive to the needs of Singaporeans.”

       “It will have to develop greater expertise in each field, be prepared for a world of more frequent crises, listen to different voices, and respond in creative and sustainable ways to the evolving aspirations of our citizens.”

       For the scholarship recipients, this means “expanding your intellectual horizons and engaging with a broad range of people”, said Mr Tharman.

       “The President’s Scholarship in particular is a pinnacle award within each cohort, but it is not the pinnacle of your life, nor an assurance that you will reach the pinnacles of the public service,” he said. “It reflects your exceptional record to date and potential as a young Singaporean, and trust in your ability to inspire others and work with them, tirelessly, for the betterment of our nation.”

       Mr Toh, who will be joining the police force after his university studies, said he was deeply inspired by his grandfather, who was also in the force.

       “He took care of me growing up, and I remember being deeply inspired by all the stories he told me,” Mr Toh said. “I saw how police officers would put their lives on the line, and I knew that I wanted to join the police then.”

       Having interacted with the elderly through volunteering, he has gained a deeper understanding of the challenges faced by elderly residents and those living in rental flats.

       “Oftentimes, we go in just wanting to solve an issue, but I realised that for elderly residents, what they need is not someone to just solve the issue but also a listening ear,” said Mr Toh. “When we stop and listen, we tend to see more things that we can help in.”

       This helped him understand that the role of a police officer is not only about responding to incidents, but also understanding the situations that people go through.

       Describing himself as an introvert, overthinker and values-driven, Mr Toh said these traits have pushed him to be more intentional in his actions: “A lot of times, it’s not just reacting to what happens on the ground but observing and knowing the right questions to ask.”

       Ms Tan was similarly inspired after hearing the stories of the residents she met at MPS, and seeing the trust and vulnerability shown by them.

       For Ms Tan, helping others has always “felt right” to her. “Giving back and helping people is something I value and is important to me, knowing how I have benefited from the goodwill of so many people,” she said.

       “I wanted to extend that to the wider community and to people who need my help the most,” she said, adding that this spurred her to take up the scholarship to explore different fields, including social mobility and welfare.

       Visibly excited as she spoke about her next stage of life and getting to meet new people from different backgrounds, Ms Tan said: “I feel very grateful for this scholarship, and it definitely is humbling.

       “It is a reminder for me that when it’s time to enter the public service, I need to do the best I can for those around me, and as I grow in my career I hope that I will always remember that.”