Some people discover their love for music and arts, others literally land themselves a life partner — all while pursuing their passion to teach at NIE. We tracked down Ms Desiree Ang (BA (Ed), Class of 2018) and Mr Matthew Ooi (BA (Ed) (Music), Year 3), both from the NTU-NIE Teaching Scholars Programme (TSP), to find out how love has made a difference in their lives on campus.

From Schoolmates to Soulmates

They were batchmates who had attended some pedagogy classes together while at NIE. With Ms Desiree Ang (BA (Ed), TSP Class of 2018) being a Chinese major and her husband, Mr Daniel Ng (BSc (Ed), Class of 2018) pursuing Physical Education, there wasn't much opportunity for interaction... until fate intervened one morning. “I was on Bus 199 on the way to class, and had greeted him with a ‘hi'. Didn't think we would see or talk to each other after that, but look where we are now!” laughed Desiree.

Indeed, the couple had been busy planning their wedding and photoshoot on campus when this interview took place. According to Desiree, it was only after the 10-week practicum at the end of her fourth year before the friendship had a chance to blossom. “We weren't officially dating before graduation, but since we both loved campus food, the NIE canteen was kind of special for us. We came back once during the holidays after graduation, just to eat the minced pork noodles. That was our first canteen meal as a couple,” she said. Needless to say, Desiree made sure to include the NIE canteen in some of her wedding photos.

As busy teachers — Desiree at Jurong Primary School, and Daniel at Greenwood Primary School — they were ready to share some helpful tips for other couples in the teaching profession. “Communication is key. No matter how swamped you are with the marking and lesson preparations, learn to make time for each other,” Desiree advised.

The million dollar question: so how did Daniel propose? “I'll give you the abridged version,” Desiree offered generously. “It was during the school holidays. I'd come home from exercise and found a note with a QR code in my room. It was like a treasure hunt and I had to figure out the final destination. Upon solving the final clue, I rushed down to the location and he proposed.”

How did TSP ignite your teaching passion?
“I gained many eye-opening experiences through TSP, including the five-week international practicum in Sweden and exchange programme in Hong Kong. I got to see for myself the importance of good teacher-student relationships, and learned to step out of my comfort zone. The experiences also taught me resilience and independence — values that have become the bedrock of my working style and ethics as an educator.”
- Ms Desiree Ang, BA (Ed), TSP Class of 2018

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Mad About Music

Mr Matthew Ooi (BA (Ed) (Music), Year 3) first fell in love with music as a secondary school student in the music elective programme. Besides being an accomplished pianist, he is also a cellist, an electone player, and a self-taught guitarist, bassist, drummer and percussionist. “A one-man band”, as he puts it. We were not surprised to learn that Matthew also composes and arranges music, having done so for string ensembles, concert bands, symphonic and even Chinese orchestras!

Matthew's passion in spreading a culture of music in the NIE student body motivates him to lead the NIE Jam Band outside of curriculum time. He had organised a virtual concert “A Call to Attention: Passion Aflame” during the pandemic so that NIE musicians could have a chance to perform for an audience. The event united communities across NIE through their love for music.

“The Visual and Performing Arts (VPA) Academic Group has been very supportive of my artistic endeavours, both within and outside of NIE. Since music and music education are constantly evolving with new music, technology and equipment, the VPA team has done a really great job in providing the best possible music education we can get, despite the limited resources available.

“Through my pursuit for music and music education, I've been able somehow to find the courage to champion music-related causes that I'm passionate about. All I needed was to start the ball rolling, and believe that change will happen even if I don't succeed at first,” Matthew mused.

His next dream is to set up a music room separate from VPA, so that NIE students could have access to music facilities. “Friends can jam and play music together as a form of relaxation and recreation, and live music performances by students for students can be organised. Wouldn't that be fun?” he asked.

We challenged Matthew to pick an instrument that would best depict his character. “A trumpet,” he said, without missing a beat. “The trumpet makes a prominent sound. I want to make myself heard when I champion meaningful causes in music, and also, probably because I can be noisy at times.”

How did TSP ignite your teaching passion?
“I chose the programme simply because I wanted to nurture my passion for music education and be part of the fraternity. Having the opportunity to study under a great team of teachers, I have deepened my knowledge on musicology, pedagogies for teaching music and cultivated my musicality through the wide range of music modules offered. Through this, I hope to inspire my students to appreciate the beauty of music.
- Mr Matthew Ooi, BA (Ed) (Music), Year 3 student