PSB Academy

AT 19, he is already in his final year of a business administration degree programme.

Not only is he able to get a degree before most others, he has also made friends from all over the world.

That is why Gabriel Oh chose to go private, instead of the taking the traditional routes via the polytechnics or the junior colleges.

Gabriel will graduate next May with a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration with a major in International Business from the PSB Academy.

He said: "While deciding where to go to after my O levels, I thought of taking up a business-related diploma at a polytechnic.

"Then I saw a PSB Academy ad and realised I could get a degree in the same amount of time."

The full-time three-year degree programme, which is awarded by the California State University, Long Beach, offers modules in accounting, international finance, marketing, and business statistics.

Said Gabriel: "The school flies in lecturers from all over the world, including the US, so we get a global perspective on the subjects."

Studies aside, Gabriel said the school has also given him a chance to grow as a leader.

He was elected president of PSB's students' council last year.

As president, he helped set up various student interest groups, such as the dance club, arts club, and business club.

Gabriel has also made friends from all over the world - half of the cohort is made up of international students.

"My schoolmates come from countries such as Nigeria, India, Indonesia, Vietnam, Myanmar, Malaysia, Philippines and China.

"We're like a mini United Nations."

Because of PSB's diverse student population, the school was invited to give a presentation in Qingdao, China, earlier this year to the organising committee of the 2008 Olympics for sailing.

"They wanted to learn how to cater to people of different cultures to prepare for the upcoming Olympics," he said.

Gabriel wants to work in the financial sector after graduating, and hopes to set up his own business in freight forwarding.

Diverse

The PSB Academy offers both part-time and full-time certificate, diploma, degree, and post-graduate programmes.

It has courses in business, engineering, information technology, and life sciences.

The school has more than 300 full-time and part-time lecturers, and takes in more than 30,000 students every year.

While Gabriel hopes to make it big in the business world, another PSB student hopes to use her skills to help the underprivileged.

Natalie Yeo, 17, a first-year student at the school's degree programme in Communication: "I hope to one day become a journalist writing about the plight of the poor in Singapore.

"I hope that my articles will be able to make a difference and help people."

The three-year full-time degree course, awarded by the University of Newcastle, Australia, will train students in various aspects of journalism and public relations.

But, for the first year, all students must take modules in economics, accounting and mathematics.

Said Natalie: "Studying economics now will help me if I become a journalist in future, to better understand how world economics can shift policies and how that may eventually affect the poor in Singapore."