Sometimes the Long Way Is the Right Way

Five years before she walked across the College of Computing and Data Science (CCDS) convocation stage, Kavipooja wondered if she would ever make it to university.

Fresh out of Yuvabharathi International School, she was holding five rejection letters and questioning whether her dream of becoming an engineer had come to an end. Having graduated during the COVID-19 pandemic, when final examinations were cancelled and results were based on predicted grades, she also recognised that her limited co-curricular involvement had made applying to universities in Singapore more challenging.

"Receiving multiple university rejections was incredibly difficult. I felt disappointed, uncertain about my future, and questioned whether I would achieve my goals," she recalls. "The isolation during the pandemic only amplified those emotions."

Her first instinct was to secure a university place as quickly as possible. Afraid of falling behind, she began exploring other options.

Her father encouraged her to do something far more difficult.

Rather than making a decision out of fear, he urged her to take time to grow, gain experience and return stronger.

Five rejection letters had forced her to pause. What she did next changed everything.

Investing in herself

Over the following year, Kavipooja earned a Diploma in Infocomm Technology, graduating as the Top Student in her cohort. She strengthened her technical foundation through additional certifications, gained work experience as an Administrative Assistant and became active in several professional and student organisations.

She also sought professional support as she worked through the disappointment of the previous year, with her father accompanying her to therapy sessions and volunteer activities, while her mother and sister remained a constant source of encouragement.

Just as importantly, she began giving her time to others.

Across five organisations, Kavipooja supported elderly residents and low-income families through meal and grocery distributions, contributed to community outreach and environmental initiatives, and took part in health and wellness programmes. Meeting people facing challenges far greater than her own transformed the way she viewed her setbacks.

"Meeting people who faced far greater challenges than I did, yet remained grateful and hopeful, completely changed my perspective," she says.

"I realised that everyone faces hardships, but what matters is how we choose to move forward. It inspired me to stop focusing on what I had lost and start appreciating what I had."

When she looked back at the end of that year, she realised she had gained far more than she had lost. She had become more resilient, disciplined and confident than the student who had once measured herself by five rejection letters.

A different answer

When Kavipooja applied to university again, every institution she applied to offered her a place.

"I think both my application and I changed," she says.

"On paper, I had become a much stronger candidate. More importantly, I had changed as a person. I stopped viewing setbacks as failures and started seeing them as opportunities for growth."

With multiple offers before her, choosing NTU was easy.

"NTU had always been my dream university," she says. "Receiving the offer wasn't just exciting—it reminded me that perseverance truly pays off."

CCDS offered the strong engineering foundation, hands-on learning and internship opportunities she had been looking for.

The engineer she set out to become

The resilience she had developed before entering university shaped the way she approached life at CCDS.

An Autonomous Vehicle Navigation System project showed her how software, algorithms and embedded systems could come together to solve real engineering problems, while internships at TNT Surveillance and the SIA Training Centre (TechSQ) strengthened her technical and professional skills.

She also became a CCDS Student Ambassador, sharing her journey with prospective students.

"Representing the very college I had once dreamed of joining reminded me how far I had come," she says. "I went from wondering if I would ever get into university to proudly encouraging others to begin their own journey here."

Today, as she prepares to join GlobalFoundries as a Data Engineer (DevOps), Kavipooja believes the greatest transformation was not academic, but personal.

"The biggest difference is that I've learnt to believe in myself," she says. "Setbacks don't define us. How we respond to them does."

She credits that transformation to the unwavering support of her family.

"My dad believed in me long before I believed in myself. My mum encouraged me every day with her positivity and unwavering support, and my sister was always there to remind me that I was never alone."

For students facing disappointments of their own, her advice is simple.

"One rejection, or even several, does not determine your future. It's okay to feel disappointed, but don't let that moment define your self-worth.

"Growth doesn't always happen on the timeline you expect, and that's okay. Trust the process, keep showing up, and remember that a 'no' today doesn't mean 'never'."

For Kavipooja, walking across the convocation stage is about far more than receiving a degree. It marks the distance between the young woman who once believed five rejection letters had defined her future and the graduate who now knows they simply marked the beginning of a different journey.