At 59, he scales to top of class
He scores perfect GPA of 4.0 in polytechnic course
By Veena Bharwani
August 29, 2009
HE scored a perfect grade-point average of 4.0 and emerged the top student in his cohort.
But he is neither a young student vying for a coveted university scholarship, nor a high-powered professional wanting to move up in his career.
Mr Kenneth Tham did a Specialist Diploma in Sports and Leisure Management at Republic Polytechnic (RP) purely out of interest.
And he did the diploma while working full-time in the real estate business, completing it in 15 months.
The 59-year-old received his diploma last Friday, at the graduation ceremony for 35 students.
The students received their certificates for completing either the Specialist Diploma in Sports and Leisure Management, the Specialist Diploma in Wireless Communication, or the Specialist Diploma in Sports and Exercise Sciences.
In his speech, Mr Tham stressed that he was just an ordinary person with extraordinary passions.
Said Mr Tham: 'I don't really think I have achieved a lot. It came my way because I really put in a lot of effort in my work.'
He had to cope with a hectic work-cum-study schedule.
Said Mr Tham: 'I would come home at about 7pm every day and have my dinner. Then, I'd go for a walk with my wife at East Coast Park.'
After that, he would settle down with his books at 10.30pm, and sometimes, he wouldn't sleep until 3am.
'At this age, I'm used to very little sleep,' he said.
He said his interest in the diploma stemmed from his love for sports.
Apart from going for jogs with his wife, Madam Mary Lim, 57, an executive secretary, he is also an avid rock climber and mountaineer. Mr Tham is also a certified abseiling instructor.
Over the years, he has scaled mountains in Taiwan, Japan, Iran and India.
In 2006, at the age of 57 , he climbed the 6,137m-high Stok Kangri mountain in Ladakh, India, with a guide. That was when it suddenly dawned on him that he needed to beef up his skills in sports massage and first aid.
'I realised I didn't have any skills to help myself or another person if something happened. It was just me and the guide.' he said.
In 2007, he obtained a certificate in sports first aid from the Singapore Sports Council (SSC). Last year, he got a certificate in sports massage, also from the SSC.
Mr Tham then signed up to be a volunteer for the SSC. This year, he was one of the official sports trainers for the Singapore National Rugby team.
He said: 'I would perform sideline duties and rendered first aid if one of the sportsmen got injured during rugby tournaments.'
Sports massages
He also spent several hours at the SSC every Saturday, giving national athletes from the various sports' associations sports massages.
Said Mr Tham: 'I enjoy both sports and contributing to the sporting community and that is why I do this.'
It was after he got heavily involved in volunteer work that he signed up for the RP diploma.
'I wanted to learn the complete picture of how sports functions in Singapore,' he said.
But not every one approves of his interests.
He said: 'At first, my son thought I was crazy to do the course and give sports massages.Some of my colleagues even wondered why I was doing something so 'low' as giving massages.'
But Mr Tham is not stopping at this diploma - he has already signed up for the Specialist Diploma in Sports and Exercise Sciences.
Said his wife Madam Lim: 'He took the course very seriously - he bought extra books on the subject and studied very hard.
'It is in his character to give a 100 per cent to something he really enjoys.'
Source:
http://tnp.sg/news/story/0,4136,2119...83140,00.html? 
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