SIM Global Education

SOME would say Cherie Tan Si Shi was born with a silver spoon in her mouth.

Her father runs his own construction business and she has the option of working for his company.

But the spunky teen chose the path less travelled after completing her O levels in 2005.

Cherie, 20, formerly of Yio Chu Kang Secondary School, said: 'I took a one-year break from studying to work, to find out if this was what I really wanted.' And that really made her mum worry.

She said: 'My mother kept asking if I was really going to go back to studying eventually.'

Cherie worked as a sales assistant for a few months, selling handbags in department stores. She then worked full-time at a bag and accessory store in Bugis Junction.

Cherie said: 'It was an eye-opener! I got to see first-hand how to run a new business. I helped with everything. Cash, inventory, stock - I did it all.'

Convinced that her interest lay in doing business, Cherie enrolled in SIM Global Education's 15-month Diploma in Management Studies programme, awarded by SIM University.

She felt the programme would allow her to acquire the skills she needed to enter the competitive business world.

She said: 'The course on business communication reinforced my public speaking skills while the microeconomics and macroeconomics courses helped me understand the current economic turmoil.'

She said her working experience taught her skills relevant to her diploma programme, like understanding group dynamics and building contacts.

Her exceptional results earned her the Bronze Award. Now in her second year of a SIM-RMIT Bachelor of Business (Management) degree programme, Cherie said the diploma programme gave her a good foundation. The diploma also allowed her to shave a year off the three-year programme.

She likes meeting the foreign students in her course as well. She now has friends from China, Vietnam, Myanmar, Indonesia and Malaysia.

'It's great because you can build an international network, which is important for business,' she said. And she's already decided what her next step is.

After Cherie earns her degree with a specialisation in Entrepreneurship, she hopes to take over her father's business.

This article was first published in The New Paper on January 12, 2009.