ALUMNI | LUMEN
21
Green Advocate
Karl Png serves as a guide at the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve and is one of the 50 youths who have signed up for a six-month programme called the Biodiversity Challenge , which aims to motivate , train and equip youths to engage their communities on issues surrounding human-wildlife interactions . He shares with Mihir Sinha on his love for the wildlife .
Astudent in SJI from 2010 - 2015 , Karl joined numerous competitions , such as the Math Olympiad , Commonwealth Writing , the Artscience programme and earned several academic awards and prizes along the way . Besides being heavily involved in academic competitions when he was in secondary school , he was also actively involved as a Peer Support Leader ( PSL ). The motivation behind that was his own encounter with his senior PSLs who helped him extensively to grow accustomed to secondary school life when he was in Sec 1 . It was this same sense of camaraderie that he wanted to pass on to his juniors which motivated him to return to become a Peer Support Facilitator ( PSF ) when he continued with the SJI IB programme for his post-secondary education . He did not feel overwhelmed by his immense involvement in these activities , and feels that when such opportunities arise , one should instead make full use of them , and push yourself to become someone greater .
Karl also extensively contributed in his CCA , where he was the Captain of the Gymnastics Team despite having no background in sports . He admits that his tenure in gymnastics was accidental , and he joined it due to his physical capacity for strength , and not dexterity . Due to this , he struggled greatly in the beginning and it was through sheer physical and mental discipline that he was able to not only persevere but excel in gymnastics . He was also the first student from SJI to participate as an individual candidate in the National “ A ” Division Trampoline Competition in 2015 . It was this story that he was able to use to motivate his fellow gymnasts to continue striving for excellence , as he did . Despite his
achievements as a Captain , his peers described him as a sincere and an extremely down to earth person .
One of the reasons why Karl joined the IB was because he felt it placed lesser emphasis on “ studying ” and was more thinking based . For someone who has not taken the IB course , their writing skills would not be as adept , he clarified that , “ It isn ’ t about how good your English is , but more about how you communicate their ideas through your writing . Having the best idea is useless unless you are able to commune it effectively .” He feels that being able to reach out to people , regardless of stature has always been a Josephian ideal . “ You can easily identify a Josephian on the street from how they talk to people , and the warmth they exude . That is one thing I feel I have gotten from my schoolmates and teachers , or family .”
His passion for ecology began at the age of 9 , when his mother bought him his first plant . As he took care of it , and saw it grow , it taught him compassion , and to learn how to care for people . Seeing it flower and bear fruit really left him touched , and not long after he was planting more seeds in his garden . He describes himself as a ‘ geek ’ in primary school , obsessed with ecology . He would get his mother to purchase encyclopedias and textbooks for him to read and learn about his new-found passion . Unfortunately , he found very few role-models in SJI who championed the ideals of conservation . One person he met was Professor Leo Tan , another old boy of SJI whose talks he frequented , and whom he engages on a personal level with . He remembers fondly Professor Tan telling him to , “ Follow your heart , with resilience and persistence , you will get there ”. Karl feels that his advice has really helped him to find his ambition to become a full time
You can easily identify a Josephian on the street from how they talk to people , and the warmth they exude .
environmental conservationist , and urges others to do the same .
This passion for ecology also led him to start the NParks CAS . He did schedule planning , and was in charge during the garden festival . It was also through this CAS that he started to volunteer in NParks in his own free time , where he built terrariums during his month-long internship . One notable thing he did there was to be the first Josephian to take part in a flower arrangement competition during the garden festival . The best experience for him was when he independently volunteered at the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve . He was able to network with many people from different government organizations , NGOs and consultancy firms and learn things like how they started their projects and how they developed their mindset on the current state of environmental conservation in Singapore . Experiences like these are extremely important as land in Singapore is very precious , and so it is important to understand the thinking and planning behind how places are designated to be conserved .
His thorough belief in a strong character , and impeccable display of Lasallian values has certainly brought him closer to achieving his life-long ambition . He is currently an intern at a programme known as “ Celebrating Singapore ’ s Shores ” where he conducts talks and roadshow exhibitions for the International Year of the Reef 2018 . He is truly a rolemodel for other Josephians who are seeking to align their future career paths with environmental conservation .