By Amelia Tan

TORMENTED by bullies when he was in Secondary 3, Li Chao Feng decided to drop out of school.

It was a move that could have ended him. He struggled to keep up with night classes, and his O-level grades were so poor that he needed intervention just to get into the Institute of Technical Education.

But he never gave up. Whether it was taking on part-time jobs to fund his studies or shrugging off dismissive jibes from relatives, he persevered.

Yesterday, he left all that behind him and topped his intelligent building technology diploma programme at Temasek Polytechnic.

His excellent performance - his grade point average was 3.94 - also won him the Tay Eng Soon Gold Medal. The award is given every year to one outstanding graduate from each polytechnic who was an ITE student.

There is more: In August, Mr Li will start classes for a degree in mechanical engineering at the Nanyang Technological University (NTU).

It has been a long climb for the 26-year-old.

At a ceremony where he was presented with his results yesterday, a beaming Mr Li related how he used to be set upon by bigger-sized schoolmates and would return home battered. He started skipping school to avoid the attacks, then dropped out.

His parents, Mr Lee Weng Kow, 51, a supervisor at a coffee shop, and Madam Choo Siang Kheng, 51, a cleaner, tried to dissuade him. But he was adamant, and took a job at a jewellery factory for $600 a month. He began to drift aimlessly. After work, he hung out at a basketball court near his parents' four-room flat in Ubi Avenue 1, smoking and getting into fights.

Meanwhile, comments by relatives and friends' parents gnawed at him. 'They said I would lead their children astray because I had dropped out of school. Those comments hurt me, and I wanted them to stop,' he said.

He also worried about the future, afraid he would have to work at a $600-a-month job for much of his life. After eight months, he decided to get his life back on track.

He enrolled in night classes to prepare for the N and O levels. To pay for them, he juggled two jobs. He said he did not want to burden his parents, who also had to care for his two younger brothers, now aged 22 and 18.

Despite his best efforts, however, his O-level results were not enough to get him into the mechanical and electrical drafting and design course at ITE.

But he appealed, and his spirit won over then course head Christopher Leow at an interview.

Mr Leow, who is now the student development manager at ITE College Central, said: 'He took both the N and O levels as a private candidate and worked to support himself.

'To me, that was a sign that he wanted to study. He also guaranteed that he would attend all classes. I knew that I had to give him a chance.'

That was all the encouragement Mr Li needed. He plugged away at ITE and did well enough to secure a place at Temasek. He continued to hold down two jobs, as a pizza deliveryman and a contract draughtsman, and hit the books late at night.

His mother said it pained her to see her son working so hard. 'But he said he didn't mind the hard work because he wanted to study. I was also glad he had found a goal in life,' said Madam Choo.

Mr Li said: 'It has been a difficult journey working and studying at the same time. But along the way, I have been helped by people like Mr Leow and teachers and classmates who coached me. I am thankful for them.'

Next stop for him: Graduating from NTU and finding work as a professional engineer or a researcher. For the record, those jobs command a starting pay of about $3,000.

This article was first published in The Straits Times.