Meet The New President of Student Council!
Student Feature: Cari-Anne Ong
Meet Cari-Anne Ong, the newly elected President of the Student Council! Stepping into her role with enthusiasm and a heart for service, Cari-Anne shares more about herself through 10 quick-fire questions. From her inspiration to her goals for the year, here’s your chance to get to know the leader representing the student body in the 22nd Student Council.
1) Tell us more about yourself!
I’m Cari-Anne Ong, from the Fencing Academy! I’m 17 years old, and my weapon group is ‘sabre’! My favourite pastimes are watching meaningful films with my family and learning new skills. My two favourite films are ‘All Quiet On The Western Front’ and ‘Forrest Gump’ - there’s just something about the realness of a gory, war film and on the other hand an extremely fun, fictitious film too!
2) What is your vision for the Student Council during your term?
I envision the council to be a powerhouse for warmth and school spirit, as we create a community in this school that supports and loves. I hope that all the councillors can find out more about their leadership style, and further their passion to lead together! Most importantly, I hope we have fun moments and bond as a team that is open and vulnerable with each other.
3) What motivated you to run for President of the Student Council?
Since I entered this school, I experienced the toll of being a student-athlete. As I grew older, I saw my peers around me slowly being engulfed by the pressure and expectations. It made me reflect on this lifestyle, making me more dedicated than before to look out for the wellbeing of my schoolmates. That’s why I ran for this role, and took up the challenge with this direction and vision in mind.
4) What are your top three priorities for the year?
1. God
2. Looking out for my family and friends
3. Living life with no regrets
5) How do you plan to represent the voices of the student body?
It always starts with a listening ear. I’m open and ready to listen to any concerns from the student body. Having been a student myself, I am quite familiar with the constant concerns the student body has- and I'm not afraid to bring it up and find solutions!
6) Are there any new initiatives or campaigns you are planning to launch?
So far, everything is still in the works, but I plan to hold programmes that will give students that ‘break’ from this vicious cycle of their schooling life. They could be bonding through food, or just be given time to rest and share worries with their friends that may have been pushed aside due to hectic days. Other plans include leadership events that are open to the entire student body and more events that bond the student body and instil pride to be a student-athlete in the Singapore Sports School!
7) What is one value you stand by as a leader?
Sincerity. I wish to create a community that is open and real, serving with my best efforts even when it gets tiring. It’s only with an open and vulnerable community that the school is able to progress for the better!
8) Share with us why you joined Sports School?
I entered the Learn To Fence programme when I was 10. It was a cool, unique sport that sparked interest in me. My sister was already in Sports School then, and she would come home and tell me about all the exciting things that happened in school, and the opportunities this school had provided for her. It amazed me and I strived to join this school too. This place was familiar to me, and I had made friends who were all interested in coming here too. It seemed like the perfect opportunity to further my sporting journey and education. That’s how I ended up here!
9) What are your future plans for yourself?
I wish to continue being a change-maker wherever I go. Planning for the future, it all seems so daunting, especially since I'm already in year 5- with ECG talks, Pre-U seminars all flooding in. There’s so many things I want to be and so many places I want to go, but one thing is for certain- in the future, I want to keep the relationship I have with my friends and family as coherent as it is now, and work to spread light to whoever I may meet, never stopping this momentum of making changes for the better and the feeling this lifelong skill of leadership.
10) Who inspires you and why?
My sister, Rae-Anne! Growing up alongside her, I've seen the way she’s handled her obstacles. She’s never had an easy childhood- experiencing intense pressure and too many failures to count. Despite all that, she’s still got up over and over again, and made comebacks stronger than before. She has boldly lit the path ahead of me, breaking boundaries, and serves as a living testimony that nothing is impossible with drive and discipline. She’s now a national athlete doing synchronised swimming, and her journey there has inspired me so much, giving me the strength to keep going when the road ahead of me seems so uncertain and scary. I’ve seen how she’s proved countless people wrong, how she’s always defeated all odds and how she’s remained joyful and loving throughout it all. She really is a big inspiration to me and my lifelong role model!
Meet Cari-Anne Ong, the newly elected President of the Student Council! Stepping into her role with enthusiasm and a heart for service, Cari-Anne shares more about herself through 10 quick-fire questions. From her inspiration to her goals for the year, here’s your chance to get to know the leader representing the student body in the 22nd Student Council.
1) Tell us more about yourself!
I’m Cari-Anne Ong, from the Fencing Academy! I’m 17 years old, and my weapon group is ‘sabre’! My favourite pastimes are watching meaningful films with my family and learning new skills. My two favourite films are ‘All Quiet On The Western Front’ and ‘Forrest Gump’ - there’s just something about the realness of a gory, war film and on the other hand an extremely fun, fictitious film too!
2) What is your vision for the Student Council during your term?
I envision the council to be a powerhouse for warmth and school spirit, as we create a community in this school that supports and loves. I hope that all the councillors can find out more about their leadership style, and further their passion to lead together! Most importantly, I hope we have fun moments and bond as a team that is open and vulnerable with each other.
3) What motivated you to run for President of the Student Council?
Since I entered this school, I experienced the toll of being a student-athlete. As I grew older, I saw my peers around me slowly being engulfed by the pressure and expectations. It made me reflect on this lifestyle, making me more dedicated than before to look out for the wellbeing of my schoolmates. That’s why I ran for this role, and took up the challenge with this direction and vision in mind.
4) What are your top three priorities for the year?
1. God
2. Looking out for my family and friends
3. Living life with no regrets
5) How do you plan to represent the voices of the student body?
It always starts with a listening ear. I’m open and ready to listen to any concerns from the student body. Having been a student myself, I am quite familiar with the constant concerns the student body has- and I'm not afraid to bring it up and find solutions!
6) Are there any new initiatives or campaigns you are planning to launch?
So far, everything is still in the works, but I plan to hold programmes that will give students that ‘break’ from this vicious cycle of their schooling life. They could be bonding through food, or just be given time to rest and share worries with their friends that may have been pushed aside due to hectic days. Other plans include leadership events that are open to the entire student body and more events that bond the student body and instil pride to be a student-athlete in the Singapore Sports School!
7) What is one value you stand by as a leader?
Sincerity. I wish to create a community that is open and real, serving with my best efforts even when it gets tiring. It’s only with an open and vulnerable community that the school is able to progress for the better!
8) Share with us why you joined Sports School?
I entered the Learn To Fence programme when I was 10. It was a cool, unique sport that sparked interest in me. My sister was already in Sports School then, and she would come home and tell me about all the exciting things that happened in school, and the opportunities this school had provided for her. It amazed me and I strived to join this school too. This place was familiar to me, and I had made friends who were all interested in coming here too. It seemed like the perfect opportunity to further my sporting journey and education. That’s how I ended up here!
9) What are your future plans for yourself?
I wish to continue being a change-maker wherever I go. Planning for the future, it all seems so daunting, especially since I'm already in year 5- with ECG talks, Pre-U seminars all flooding in. There’s so many things I want to be and so many places I want to go, but one thing is for certain- in the future, I want to keep the relationship I have with my friends and family as coherent as it is now, and work to spread light to whoever I may meet, never stopping this momentum of making changes for the better and the feeling this lifelong skill of leadership.
10) Who inspires you and why?
My sister, Rae-Anne! Growing up alongside her, I've seen the way she’s handled her obstacles. She’s never had an easy childhood- experiencing intense pressure and too many failures to count. Despite all that, she’s still got up over and over again, and made comebacks stronger than before. She has boldly lit the path ahead of me, breaking boundaries, and serves as a living testimony that nothing is impossible with drive and discipline. She’s now a national athlete doing synchronised swimming, and her journey there has inspired me so much, giving me the strength to keep going when the road ahead of me seems so uncertain and scary. I’ve seen how she’s proved countless people wrong, how she’s always defeated all odds and how she’s remained joyful and loving throughout it all. She really is a big inspiration to me and my lifelong role model!
- Meet The New President of Student Council!