Embracing Uncertainty: How Lessons from Global Internships Rewrote Benedict Isaac Lim’s Definition of Success

Benedict in New York City during his internship at TIQC

Benedict Isaac Lim used to believe there was only one way to succeed: follow the syllabus, score near-perfect grades, and let the rest fall into place. That belief fell apart in his first semester at NTU’s College of Computing and Data Science (CCDS), when his results shocked him.

After years of academic excellence – an O-Level score of 6 and a polytechnic GPA of 3.95 – his university grades were nowhere near perfect and described as “devastating”. For the first time, he thought he had permanently damaged his future.

A Year 2 Computer Science student under NTU’s Overseas Entrepreneurship Programme (OEP), Benedict had always been disciplined and by-the-books, but he was also quietly restless. Constantly searching for internship opportunities beyond Singapore, he wanted to see the world, even if it meant stepping far outside his comfort zone.

He first self-funded an overseas stint through the Cross Cultural Internship Programme (CCIP), then spent three months in Shenzhen during OEP summer. There, he worked on projects ranging from a hospital management system tender to a Yamaha inventory dashboard, while navigating life in a city alone and without company where he didn’t speak the language and everyone else stayed late at work.

Often the first to leave the office, he found himself the most out of place. However, he learnt to grow from the discomfort. Alone in China, Benedict was forced to interact, adapt, and learn Chinese which allowed him to connect with residents there.

Benedict (front, right) with fellow interns at TIQC in New York City

New city, new experience
That confidence followed him to New York City where he went on the three-month NTU x USA Overseas Internship Programme. There, he worked at the Tech Incubator at Queens College (TIQC) from December 2025 to February 2026.

Surrounded by early-stage founders, walking past different startups down the office hallway every day, and receiving mentorship in both business and tech aspects, he discovered the value of people over scripts.

Networking, he realised, was not about pitching, but rather about genuinely caring. That mindset led to real opportunities, including multiple long-term job leads in NYC, one from a senior developer manager at Capital One Bank he met outside of work. Living alone in Flushing, Queens, navigating loneliness, culture shock, and the city’s relentless pace, Benedict became more outspoken, more risk-taking, and far more resilient.

“I’m so grateful I did not get a high GPA in my first semester. Had I done so, I would have allocated more resources to maintaining it, which would have robbed me of all the memorable opportunities I got from internships.”

Looking back, he now calls his early academic “failure” the best thing that happened to him. It was a pivotal turning point that liberated him from the conventional academic path and revealed that university life extends beyond mere grades. It encompasses invaluable exposure, personal growth, and the forging of connections that are truly priceless.

Had he maintained a perfect GPA, he believes he might never have allocated his time to taking these risks, and would have robbed himself of these memorable experiences.

“If you think the most important thing about university is grades,” he says, “then you’re missing the point.” For Benedict, success no longer fits neatly on a transcript; it’s written in the people he’s met, the cultures he’s lived in, and the confidence he’s built along the way.

Story by Htoo Myat Noe.