Alumnus Profile: Yow Keat Tham

Qualifications

GCE O Levels, Monash University Foundation Year, Bachelor of Science (Honours) and PhD (Medicine) [under review].

Current Job Title/Designation 

Senior research assistant/Research Officer, Cardiac Hypertrophy, Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute, Melbourne.

For graduates, tell us briefly about your current job and company.

My current position involves driving multiple research projects independently and supervising students within the laboratory. Our laboratory, and research institute as a whole, has an overall research focus on discovering possible cures for heart failure and related diseases.

What is your most memorable experience in school? 

My most memorable experience in school were with the friends that I made, many whom I remain friends with to this day. Random inside jokes such as “the treaty of not crossing” during History, or “my three stupid boys” during English class, these were things that we still laugh about amongst each other till this day. 

What were your favourite and least favourite subjects in school, and why?

Funnily enough it was not any of the sciences, but history that was my most favourite subject. I was fascinated by how much we could learn from the past and the reasons for why people did what they did.

My least favourite subject was probably physics, as I struggled to apply real world relevance to the concepts and formulas and just thought it did not matter.

What extracurricular activities did you do? 

I was quite active in football and swimming, partaking in both briefly at the school level.

What was the best thing about your school? What important lessons did you learn in your school that have helped you in your life?

The best thing about e.l.c. was that while they provided us that degree of freedom to explore the curriculum, I felt at that time our school was one of the best in terms of student discipline. 

I learnt numerous lessons at e.l.c, the most important was to always do the best that I can. Still a principle I apply to everything I do till this day. 

If you could travel back in time, what is the one thing that you would change when you were a student? 

I would tell myself to smile more. Not to take everything so seriously. Getting 88% does not mean “where did that 12%” go, but “good work!”

What advice would you give to current students of your alma mater?

Enjoy high school! A lot of things that happen during this time might seem to be the be all and end all of things. While you definitely should study hard, the most important thing is to enjoy the process!