Some people are smart because of their grades. But for Gursharan and Carol, they are smart in spite of their grades.
Gursharan Singh, age 18 from Chinguacousy Secondary School in Brampton, and Carol Lam, age 19 from Cawthra Park Secondary School in Mississauga, both earned a 99.2 average in high school and were named the top scholars in the Peel region. With their high averages and plenty of publicity in local newspapers, there was no need to worry about university admission averages or the double cohort. In fact, they could have gone to Ivy League colleges in the States. But they didn’t.
“It’s too much work [writing the SATs]. We’re too lazy, we’re like whatever…it’s just such a hassle to write the SATs and I’m not desperate to go to the States. It’s not like Canada is not good,” says Lam. Singh agrees. “For the stuff like SATs, I think it’s a waste of time because I really don’t care what my score is…and I think UT is the coolest anyway.”
They both received scholarships from U of T and are now studying in the Life Science program at the St. George campus. They initially met each other through a television interview and have kept in touch since classes began. Singh and Lam chose U of T over Queens and other Ontario universities for its prestige, worldwide recognition and excellent research programs. Moreover, location was an important factor because Singh is a commuter and Lam, though a resident at University College, likes to be close to home.
While they are blessed with intelligence and not bothered much by financial worries, Singh and Lam do not feel they are any luckier than an average student.
“I don’t find myself lucky because I worked hard for my grades. I find myself lucky to have a great family and friends,” explains Lam. Singh shares the same view. “We earned the grades and anybody who works hard can get good grades.”
They also stress the importance of having great family support when they are going through rough times, which seems to be a key to their success. “My parents are proud of me and what’s most important for me is to make my parents proud …I didn’t go to school to make other people proud. In younger grades, you get make fun of for getting good marks but in higher grades, you get respected for it,” says Singh. Lam adds, “When you’re young and you don’t know anything and people in your class isolate you because you do so well, you just start to learn to not care about what they think. You just do your best to be who you are.”
Furthermore, both Singh and Lam believe that confidence comes from families and friends. “If someone makes fun of me, obviously I would feel bad. But if [people who care about me] says don’t worry about it, then it kinda makes it go away,” explains Singh.
They also confess that they honestly don’t spend a lot time on studying. “We really don’t study that much. We go to class and we really pay attention…and not be distracted and focus. It’s also about your own mind set,” says Singh. Aside from academics, Singh tutors, plays basketball, soccer, piano, drums and enjoys reading. For Lam, she volunteers in community centers, teaches Chinese, tutors, plays piano, takes karate lessons and does yoga.
Singh and Lam manage their time very well, but unlike what most may think, they are also very laid back. They take life as it is and they don’t stress about it. Perhaps it is because they have yet to experience the harshness of university life, or they really do know what is important in their lives and they know how to prioritize. With four promising years ahead of them, they have a desire to do well, to succeed and to make the most out of their university education. Singh is considering medical school and hopes to become a surgeon, but he says plans are not definite. Lam, likewise, is also interested in a medical career with Doctors Without Borders and dreams of working in Africa.
