SINGAPORE — When Muhammad Haikal Nekla dropped out of secondary school at 16 due to family issues and began working full-time to help support them, he intended to go back to complete his education some day.

He made good on the promise only many years later.

"When I made the decision to drop out, I told my principal that I would continue my education one day, but I never got around to it," he said.

A discussion with some Republic Polytechnic (RP) interns he was supervising at the restaurant chain where he worked spurred him to return to school at the age of 33, in 2021.

"They shared that (polytechnics) took a more hands-on approach to learning, where theories are applied to real-life problems. That was what interested me the most," said Haikal, who was then an assistant manager at Fish & Co.

After more than 15 years of working as waiter, barista and manager in the food and beverage (F&B) industry, Haikal enrolled in RP's diploma of restaurant and culinary operations programme in 2022 via the Early Admissions Exercise, which is open to working adults.

In May, the 36-year-old became the valedictorian of RP's School of Hospitality with a grade point average of 3.79. He was among more than 4,500 graduates from 79 diploma programmes across the polytechnic.

Haikal was worried at first about fitting in with the other students, as he was more than twice the age of some of them.

But he soon earned their respect, and his schoolmates affectionately called him "Uncle Haikal".

He also had to make some sacrifices to go back to school. Haikal, who is not married, had to dip into his savings during his time to polytechnic to care for his mother and grandmother.

Fortunately, he received financial support to pay his school fees via a bursary in his first-year and the bond-free Sands Hospitality Scholarship for his second and third years.

Still, he continued to work, clocking in 16 hours weekly as a part-time supervisor at Fish & Co to support his family.

He said: "My mum was briefly hospitalised in 2022 and my grandmother had kidney failure in 2023, so I had a lot on my plate."

Having to care for his family while working and studying meant that he would sometimes sleep for only four hours a day. "Some days, I would come home from work or school to complete my assignments. Then at midnight, I would take a taxi to my grandmother's place to take care of her."

When asked what got him through that period of time, he gave props to his family and friends: "I'm not too sure how I got through it either, but it helped that I had support from the people around me."

Haikal said that one of the reasons he succeeded academically in RP was his industry experience. "The curriculum was designed so that my experience gave me a strong foundation," he said.

He also learnt from his younger schoolmates. "Even though they are much younger than I am, they can still do some things better than I can, and I've been able to absorb and learn from," he added.

His biggest takeaway from his time at RP is this: "It doesn't matter how old you are — it's important to be open-minded. Whether you're young or old, there's always something to learn and take away from others."

With his diploma has come a chance for him to make a career pivot — Haikal has been accepted into the National University of Singapore's College of Humanities and Sciences, where he plans to study for a bachelor's degree in social work.

"I don't think that F&B and social work are that different. You're able to interact with and learn the stories of people from all walks of life," he said.

"The main difference is that I'm able to walk with them through their journeys as a social worker."

This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.