Ravi Gopinath (18S13)

Quietly confident, Ravi Gopinath (18S13) battled tremendous fear and weak interpersonal skills in his earlier years, to become the Vice President of JPJC’s Student Council.

Quietly confident, Ravi Gopinath battled tremendous fear and weak interpersonal skills in his earlier years, to become the Vice President of JPJC’s Student Council.

“I lost a lot of opportunities to grow due to this fear and I wanted to overcome it and step out of my comfort zone.” He was inspired to apply to become a Student Councillor when he witnessed his seniors working hard to create a welcoming environment for the new JC1 students, and when his seniors shared their respective journeys of growth and development through becoming Student Councillors.

While teachers remember him as being quiet, his determination to challenge himself and to attain his hopes saw him eventually being selected as the Vice-President of the Student Council. His guiding principal is “To lead is to serve” and his teachers were impressed with the way he displayed traits of this quote in his ‘servant-leadership’ style and how he mentored fellow councilors. Ravi overcame personal insecurities to surprise his peers and teachers with his leadership abilities. He shared his reflections, “What I have gained is beyond description and I don’t know where to begin. From learning organisation skills, time-management, being forward thinking and adaptable, team work and creative thinking, these are just some of the areas of knowledge and skills I picked up.”

In his term in Council, he saw the merger of JJC and PJC and led the first batch of JPJC students in building a nascent identity. In his term, the Council had to plan for the inclusion of activities on the heritage of both colleges during Orientation for the new batch of JC1s. He led the Council in inducting the 1st cohort of JPJC students into the new college – no mean feat given the complexities of a merger and the demands on the Council during this critical period. Not one who was naturally accustomed to be in the lead, the experience helped him grow tremendously.

While overcoming personal insecurities was one challenge, dealing with the demands of his commitments was another hurdle he had to overcome. It was an uphill task to manage between studies and Student Council commitments. “I initially prioritized Student Council work but slowly started picking momentum for my studies. However, this realization came late in JC2.” Catching up with his studies was a challenging task but his subject tutors and fellow Student Councillors constantly motivated him. So did his family. He remembers quotes such as “You are like graphite, only under pressure and temperature would you be able to be moulded, and shine like a diamond.” Such quotes pushed him to focus on his studies. He sought his tutors for help when needed; his tutors remember that he was determined and showed much improvement once he was able to focus on his subjects.

Ravi is grateful to the college for providing its students with numerous developmental opportunities. His Student Council teachers were unanimous in recognizing his growth as a leader and how he has contributed greatly to the coming together of both colleges.