Normal tech student who beat the odds to practise law

SMU School of Law alumnus Jason Chua shared how he progressed from being a Normal (Technical) student to become a law school graduate. The turning point in his life came when his mother was retrenched when he was 16. An incident in his mother’s office prompted him to take “a hard look at what I wanted to do with my life. I wanted to study, to change my life, to make my mum proud of me. I wanted to give her a better life, and I didn't want to waste mine." He had set his sights on law school to prove he could do it, and also because he wanted to ‘champion social justice’. Besides studies, Mr Chua makes it a point to help others in need. He started volunteering with hospice patients in his late teens, hoping to be a better person. Now, he regularly visits a group of destitute seniors he befriended. SMU Associate Professor of Law Eugene Tan, who had taught Mr Chua a course in ethics, described the young man as determined and conscientious.  He said, “It’s a significant achievement for any student from Normal (Technical) stream to make it to a Singapore law school.  Not many…would dream of making it to law school, given that the law degree is extremely popular and competitive in Singapore. So it takes a fair amount of grit and perseverance to thrive in an environment where high performers are the norm.”