Her easy bond with older residents could stem in part from how she's an only child who grew up in a household of adults.
Her father owned a coffee shop in Ghim Moh with several shareholders. He ran a drinks stall where she helped out at, while at Crescent Girls' School and later Hwa Chong Junior College.
"Making coffee was what my dad was good at and he raised the family through this," she says.... Her mother is a housewife.
When she was in her third year, her father had a heart attack. She had to run the coffee shop and took a semester off for this.
Upgrading works were being done in the area and business was bad. "We dipped into savings... My mum would sometimes cry secretly. She tried to hide it but I knew. "
She gives an animated recitation of a typical day: "Wake up at five plus. Open the coffee shop by six. Heat up the stove, check cashier, everything is in order then do, do, do, do, do. Afternoon, if there's class, I try to run to class while my mum takes over... then after that I come back, then to midnight, then close. Very tired. By the time I reach home... after shower, hit the bed, gone. Very tiring."
That experience taught her the struggles of small businesses and students who juggle work and study.
On her bad experience in 2011, she says she is thankful that MacPherson residents have been supportive and "willing to see me differently".
On how she managed to move on, she says there was a point when she realised that if she overcame the nastiness she faced, it might encourage others with their own challenges.
"So there was also this additional dimension that was motivating me." She adds: "There's this song, if it doesn't kill you, you will get stronger. So sometimes these pop songs help." (She's referring to Kelly Clarkson's Stronger).
What also helped was putting the criticisms in perspective.
Even though she felt wronged and hurt, she realised that what she suffered was "really just (loss of) face issue, pride, reputation".
"All these things are intangible, right? I still have my family around me, whereas for other people whom I've met, they have real bread and butter issues, like losing a job and worries about how to feed the whole family."
She has many plans for her ward and talks earnestly - and at length - about plans to rejuvenate the ward, help the elderly age actively in the community, and projects for younger residents.
Excerpt of interview with Sumiko Tan.
Her father owned a coffee shop in Ghim Moh with several shareholders. He ran a drinks stall where she helped out at, while at Crescent Girls' School and later Hwa Chong Junior College.
"Making coffee was what my dad was good at and he raised the family through this," she says.... Her mother is a housewife.
When she was in her third year, her father had a heart attack. She had to run the coffee shop and took a semester off for this.
Upgrading works were being done in the area and business was bad. "We dipped into savings... My mum would sometimes cry secretly. She tried to hide it but I knew. "
She gives an animated recitation of a typical day: "Wake up at five plus. Open the coffee shop by six. Heat up the stove, check cashier, everything is in order then do, do, do, do, do. Afternoon, if there's class, I try to run to class while my mum takes over... then after that I come back, then to midnight, then close. Very tired. By the time I reach home... after shower, hit the bed, gone. Very tiring."
That experience taught her the struggles of small businesses and students who juggle work and study.
On her bad experience in 2011, she says she is thankful that MacPherson residents have been supportive and "willing to see me differently".
On how she managed to move on, she says there was a point when she realised that if she overcame the nastiness she faced, it might encourage others with their own challenges.
"So there was also this additional dimension that was motivating me." She adds: "There's this song, if it doesn't kill you, you will get stronger. So sometimes these pop songs help." (She's referring to Kelly Clarkson's Stronger).
What also helped was putting the criticisms in perspective.
Even though she felt wronged and hurt, she realised that what she suffered was "really just (loss of) face issue, pride, reputation".
"All these things are intangible, right? I still have my family around me, whereas for other people whom I've met, they have real bread and butter issues, like losing a job and worries about how to feed the whole family."
She has many plans for her ward and talks earnestly - and at length - about plans to rejuvenate the ward, help the elderly age actively in the community, and projects for younger residents.
Excerpt of interview with Sumiko Tan.
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