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Minister George Yeo to her rescue
Undergrad's visa and passport problems sorted after e-mail to Foreign Minister
By Tay Shi'an
July 26, 2009
THANKFUL: Ms Grace Teo e-mailed Minister George Yeo out of sheer desperation when she was running late for an attachment with Harvard and MIT due to red-tape issues over her visa and passport. --TNP PICTURE: KUA CHEE SIONG
ONCE, when a Singaporean undergrad, Ms Grace Teo, was fighting red tape in a faraway land, Minister George Yeo came to her rescue.
She had problems with her passport renewal and visa application, while in London.
This threatened to make her weeks late for a prestigious attachment with Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
Out of 'sheer desperation', Ms Teo, then 21, sent an e-mail at 11pm to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, who has his own blog and Facebook page.
At 9am the next day, the Singapore High Commission in London gave her a call to say everything had been sorted out. She made it to the US in time.
She recalled how she was impressed with the Minister's quick response, his willingness to help an individual citizen in need, and how proud it made her feel to be a Singaporean.
She e-mailed the Minister to thank him for his help.
When The New Paper contacted Mr Yeo, he said: 'I'm flattered, of course. But it is a deserving case.'
He said he receives such requests for help from time to time, though not too often.
'Generally, I act on them immediately by referring them to the relevant agencies. But the outcome is not always so happy,' he said.
Mr Yeo added he was happy to hear of Ms Teo's academic success and admission into the Harvard-MIT PhD programme.
Ms Teo left such a deep impression during her US stint that she will returning to the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology next month to do her PhD in medical engineering, under a fellowship.
Her lab sessions will be conducted at MIT, and her classes at Harvard. Both campuses are in Boston.
Ms Teo, now 23, graduates next week from NTU with a first-class Bachelor of Engineering (Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering) degree, and has also won book prizes and awards.
Galloping scholar
While doing her NTU course, Ms Teo took part in a student exchange programme in UK.
Through careful planning and research, she managed to squeeze in three overseas stints - in Switzerland, UK and US - during her undergrad years.
She was one of just 25 students selected worldwide in 2007 to receive a fully-paid summer research programme at the Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne in Switzerland.
It was in Switzerland that Ms Teo dated a Harvard undergrad attending the same programme, and thought about following him to Boston.
'Also, after spending six months in Europe, I wanted to spend six months in another continent,' she said.
Ms Teo read up on all the researchers in the area and their journal articles until she found one that she liked.
She said: 'I wasn't sure if I should go. So I left it to God and e-mailed just the one professor.'
The professor responded. After receiving Ms Teo's CV and conducting a Skype interview, she got a place in the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology from Feb to Aug 2008.
NTU also agreed to let her replace her one-semester Industrial Attachment with the US stint, so she didn't have to extend her four-year study.
Her relationship with the Harvard student didn't work out, but Ms Teo met an MIT student while at the programme.
He is now 27, a church minister, and a part-time Masters divinity student in Boston. The two have been dating for over a year now.
Ms Teo, the youngest of three girls, said it was her parents who contributed to her can-do attitude.
She said: 'My mum is extremely capable, she gets things done. My dad is the one with the adventurous, pioneering spirit.'
She hopes to be a professor in future, as she likes to teach and work with young people.
Minister George Yeo to her rescue
Undergrad's visa and passport problems sorted after e-mail to Foreign Minister
By Tay Shi'an
July 26, 2009
THANKFUL: Ms Grace Teo e-mailed Minister George Yeo out of sheer desperation when she was running late for an attachment with Harvard and MIT due to red-tape issues over her visa and passport. --TNP PICTURE: KUA CHEE SIONG
ONCE, when a Singaporean undergrad, Ms Grace Teo, was fighting red tape in a faraway land, Minister George Yeo came to her rescue.
She had problems with her passport renewal and visa application, while in London.
This threatened to make her weeks late for a prestigious attachment with Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
Out of 'sheer desperation', Ms Teo, then 21, sent an e-mail at 11pm to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, who has his own blog and Facebook page.
At 9am the next day, the Singapore High Commission in London gave her a call to say everything had been sorted out. She made it to the US in time.
She recalled how she was impressed with the Minister's quick response, his willingness to help an individual citizen in need, and how proud it made her feel to be a Singaporean.
She e-mailed the Minister to thank him for his help.
When The New Paper contacted Mr Yeo, he said: 'I'm flattered, of course. But it is a deserving case.'
He said he receives such requests for help from time to time, though not too often.
'Generally, I act on them immediately by referring them to the relevant agencies. But the outcome is not always so happy,' he said.
Mr Yeo added he was happy to hear of Ms Teo's academic success and admission into the Harvard-MIT PhD programme.
Ms Teo left such a deep impression during her US stint that she will returning to the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology next month to do her PhD in medical engineering, under a fellowship.
Her lab sessions will be conducted at MIT, and her classes at Harvard. Both campuses are in Boston.
Ms Teo, now 23, graduates next week from NTU with a first-class Bachelor of Engineering (Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering) degree, and has also won book prizes and awards.
Galloping scholar
While doing her NTU course, Ms Teo took part in a student exchange programme in UK.
Through careful planning and research, she managed to squeeze in three overseas stints - in Switzerland, UK and US - during her undergrad years.
She was one of just 25 students selected worldwide in 2007 to receive a fully-paid summer research programme at the Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne in Switzerland.
It was in Switzerland that Ms Teo dated a Harvard undergrad attending the same programme, and thought about following him to Boston.
'Also, after spending six months in Europe, I wanted to spend six months in another continent,' she said.
Ms Teo read up on all the researchers in the area and their journal articles until she found one that she liked.
She said: 'I wasn't sure if I should go. So I left it to God and e-mailed just the one professor.'
The professor responded. After receiving Ms Teo's CV and conducting a Skype interview, she got a place in the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology from Feb to Aug 2008.
NTU also agreed to let her replace her one-semester Industrial Attachment with the US stint, so she didn't have to extend her four-year study.
Her relationship with the Harvard student didn't work out, but Ms Teo met an MIT student while at the programme.
He is now 27, a church minister, and a part-time Masters divinity student in Boston. The two have been dating for over a year now.
Ms Teo, the youngest of three girls, said it was her parents who contributed to her can-do attitude.
She said: 'My mum is extremely capable, she gets things done. My dad is the one with the adventurous, pioneering spirit.'
She hopes to be a professor in future, as she likes to teach and work with young people.
