When Edwin looks back upon his days as a youth, a myriad of different emotions fills his mind and heart. He remembers his secondary school days in Raffles Institution, more so, during his first year as a secondary 1 boy in new surroundings, new faces, and trying to find a place where he would belong in. A sense of accomplishment also sets in as he remembers how those beginnings helped pave the way to who he is today.

Now a captain in the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF), Edwin, 24 talks about the how choosing a CCA pretty much was indeed a tough choice to be made for a 13 – year old boy at that time who was torn between choosing something sporty or joining a uniformed group. But with the guidance of his supportive parents who wanted him to choose something less time consuming, he chose the latter and went with his gut only to soon discover it was an extremely good choice for him.

Edwin joined the Red Cross Youth and soon he found himself opening doors of opportunities, like getting to be a leader within the Red Cross Youth unit of Raffles Institution, in which he became a Volunteer Instructor and also participating in the various camps and during school holidays. He managed to prioritize his timing between study and at the same, let his passion lead the way within the RCY unit of his school.

Edwin, who is also a prestigious SAF scholar, strongly believes in leading by example and this is something he carries with him till today as a working adult in the military.

A self-proclaimed introvert, Red Cross Youth has helped him to develop his interpersonal skills and have many chances in speaking with youths from all around Singapore – which gave him different viewpoints and also, in turn, made him a better person.

His advice for the the current Red Cross Youth and those interested to be a part of it?

'While you focus on having fun and making friends in RCY, you end up learning useful life-skills and develop yourself along the way. Unlike most sports or performance groups, uniform groups like RCY encourage cadets to interact with cadets from other schools in a collaborative, rather than competitive manner. Hence, RCY allows you to meet people from different backgrounds and work together with them, rather than try to out-do them. This is a useful skill to develop."

He also lives by the motto "Work Hard, Play Hard."

By : Sheena Conceicao, Corporate Communications