Holding On, Moving Ahead: Venus Ang’s Quiet Triumph

When the Ground Shifts Beneath You

When Venus Ang entered NTU in 2020, she brought with her a record of academic success and a strong work ethic honed in polytechnic. What she couldn’t have predicted was how much harder it would be to find her footing in university; not because of ability, but because of timing.

The COVID-19 pandemic had upended everything. Orientation was cancelled, lessons were held over Zoom, and the usual support systems were out of reach. In that isolation, even asking questions felt difficult. What followed wasn’t a failure of potential, but a slow erosion of confidence.

“I came from poly with straight A’s,” she recalls. “But in university, I was getting Bs and Cs, and it hit me hard.”

The change in academic pace and expectations took its toll. Labs, in particular, felt confusing and hard to keep up with. Over time, the sense of falling behind wore her down.

She began to disengage – first skipping classes, then an entire semester. Three failed semesters followed, and eventually, she received her first academic termination letter.

Watching her classmates progress while she struggled to keep pace was quietly demoralising. Still, she wasn’t ready to give up completely, “There was still a part of me that didn’t want to give up.”

The First Turning Point

It was a conversation with a friend from her NTU Scuba Diving Club that helped Venus reconsider her options. “He told me, just go and appeal. Don’t give up yet.”

Encouraged by his words, she began exploring ways to get back on track and discovered for the first time that NTU offered resources she hadn’t known about. There were mentor teachers and peer tutoring sessions available for students in her situation.

With academic guidance and peer support newly in reach, Venus submitted an appeal and was granted a second chance. But even with renewed effort, her GPA stayed just below the reinstatement threshold. When a second termination letter arrived, she once again faced a difficult decision: to walk away, or to try again.

She chose to stay; unwilling to leave things unfinished.

Support and Small Shifts

This time, Venus approached her studies with clearer intent. Peer tutoring became a cornerstone of her recovery. “Even in Year 3, I was still asking about Year 1 basics,” she shares. “But my peer tutors never made me feel ashamed.”

She picked up study techniques from friends, like breaking revision into smaller, focused chunks and preparing for labs more intentionally. Instead of tackling everything at once, she learned to focus on one section at a time. Labs that once paralysed her slowly became less intimidating.

The emotional weight of her academic journey was often eased by her Scuba Diving Club friends, many of whom had already graduated. “They’d still check in on me, send me past tutorials, help me figure things out.” That quiet, consistent encouragement reminded her she wasn’t alone and it became its own form of accountability — She wanted to make their help count.

She also credits her parents for giving her the space to decide her path. "They told me, if you want to carry on, carry on. If you want to work, then work. No pressure." That kind of steady support mattered more than she expected.

Finding Her Way Back

Bit by bit, things began to shift. Her GPA began to rise. She started passing her modules more consistently.

“B grades are okay,” she says with a small smile. “At least they’re not D’s or F’s anymore.”

For Venus, graduation is not just about earning a degree, it is a deeply personal milestone that proves she could hold on when it mattered most.

“I told my parents I was like a person standing on a fence, constantly tipping to one side,” she laughs. “But I didn’t fall.”

Reaching the finish line brought a quiet sense of pride. She could finally let go of the weight she had been carrying and move forward with more confidence and clarity than she had when she started.

For her, it wasn’t just about survival anymore. It was about learning how to show up for herself, consistently, even when things felt uncertain.

A Message to Others

Venus’s journey was never about being perfect. It was about staying the course, especially in moments of doubt. What helped her most was realising she didn’t have to do it all alone.

“To other students who are struggling, I’d say this: ask for help when you need it. Take a break if you must. No one has it all figured out, even if it looks that way. And if you’ve fallen behind, just know you can always come back.”

Her story reminds us that resilience often shows up quietly. It looks like persistence, patience, and learning to trust yourself again.

Looking back, Venus knows now that what matters most isn’t how fast you finish. It’s how you grow through the process and who you become because of it. And for her, that has made all the difference.