Zest To Give Her Best

Graduation 2020: Valedictorian (Secondary)

Diligent, hardworking, and a passionate learner, Sabrina Lee Jingyi has all the right traits that makes her an outstanding student-athlete. Whether in the classroom or in the badminton courts, Sabrina’s interest to learn and zest to give her best in all that she does, has made her an inspiration to her peers.

Since Secondary 1, Sabrina’s excellent grades have put her among the top in her cohort. Over the years, she has received several academic and subject awards. She puts in the same amount of hard work and dedication as a badminton player, never giving herself an off-day from training. Even after an injury, Sabrina tries her best to bounce back to training as quickly as she can and works extra hard to get back on track. She has been a member of the National Intermediate Squad since 2017, represented Singapore at the 2019 Badminton Asia Youth U17 Championships in both Singles and Doubles, is a podium finisher in national age-group competitions, and is a four-time gold medallist at National School Games.

As a kid, Sabrina Lee Jingyi found her interest in badminton when she used to play it as a pastime with her siblings. She would walk down to the park with her slippers, and bounce shuttles back and forth carelessly. Her elder brother, who enjoyed teasing her when she was young, used to make fun of her for not being able to beat him. That spurred her on to take up badminton as a co-curricular activity when she started Primary School to improve her skills and prove her brother wrong. And she certainly did!

When it was time for Sabrina to select her next step after the Primary School Leaving Examinations, Sabrina wanted to join Singapore Sports School as she believed the school has strong support for athletes and offered the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP), which her two older siblings had taken as well. “Motivated to challenge my limits, I was convinced that Sports School would be the right choice for me. I was also excited to develop my independence through the boarding experience,” shared Sabrina.

As aspired by Sabrina who wanted to follow in the footsteps of her siblings, she will be continuing her journey at Sports School as an IBDP student-athlete next year.

Beyond the classrooms and the badminton courts, Sabrina has also impressed with her leadership qualities. She has taken on leadership rol es within the Badminton Academy as the Captain of the “C” Division team, and has planned and executed several values-in-action projects.

She is currently in the Students’ Council Executive Committee – which she considers as one of her biggest achievements in Sports School to date. She said, “I had little confidence in myself as a leader as many were charismatic and inspiring, which I did not see in myself. Though in doubt at first, I wanted to challenge myself, to have more confidence, and most of all, to be a better person. Starting on that journey has brought me to where I am today, developing my values and sense of responsibility towards the school.”

Sabrina’s pleasant disposition and willingness to lend a helping hand makes her well-liked among peers and staff. It is no surprise that the all-rounder was selected to be a valedictorian to represent graduating student-athletes in the secondary school programme. She said, “It is an honour to be selected as this year’s valedictorian...This is the motivation for me to continue working very hard. I also hope to be a person that I can be proud of, in both attitude and actions.”