Dennis Chew wants to go to uni but worries he'll be of retirement age by graduation

Many Singaporeans are faced with the choice of university or employment after finishing their polytechnic journey.

Despite radio DJ-actor Dennis Chew already having a long-standing and successful career with Mediacorp, part of him wants to further his education after he graduates from Ngee Ann Polytechnic in May next year.

"Deep in a small corner of my heart, I've actually been shouting, 'University, here I come!'," the 51-year-old told host Jernelle Oh in a recent episode of #JustSwipeLah. "But looking at myself now, I actually don't dare to do it.

"Think about it, I'll already be 52 when I graduate. If I go and attend university for another four years, by the time I come back, I'll have to retire."

Jernelle, 30, responded: "I think life has no end."

"But this is studying, it's different," Dennis said.

When Jernelle said: "Studying only uses the brain", Dennis countered: "Do you know how difficult it is?"

He said people had previously told him that polytechnic was easy but he would curse at them after going through the experience himself because "studying really is hard".

Especially when it came to computers, Dennis said that he would still be "slowly reaching out for the mouse" while his classmates, over 30 years his juniors, would be done with their tasks.

He even sometimes felt embarrassed if he had too many questions to ask.

"Once you get to a certain part, you can only stop until the teacher is done with the lesson," he explained. "Then you move forward reluctantly and say, 'Teacher, just now I could only do until this part'.

"Fortunately, the teacher wouldn't mind."

Despite this, Dennis said he was treated more strictly by teachers in his Diploma in Chinese Media & Communication course, as he had prior knowledge of some parts of the curriculum from his time working in radio.

"So many people will say that I'll surely get As for every subject, but no, I did get C before — twice!" he said.

Instead of university, Dennis currently wants to use what he's learnt during his three years of polytechnic education "to do something for the radio station" Love 972 and Mediacorp where he works.

Things are already in progress, he added.

"I'm looking forward to seeing what you will do when you come back to the company," Jernelle said.

Dennis the intern

Dennis is currently a marketing intern at Song Fa Bak Kut Teh and said that his teachers hoped he could do "even better during the internship".

The strict grading applies to this too, as he said he'd be scored poorly if he didn't meet their standards.

When Dennis got the go-ahead to pursue his diploma, it was initially agreed that he'd go back to the radio station for his internship, but he figured he would not learn anything new that way and wanted to step out of his comfort zone.

He got his current role after doing a video interview with The Straits Times where he had brunch at Song Fa — something he said he did so often that the people at the restaurant had become familiar with him.

"The lady boss of Song Fa sent me a DM, thanking me," he said. "While chatting, she learnt that I was worrying about looking for a company to intern at."

After discussing with her colleagues, she decided that they needed an intern and Dennis became their first one.

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Dennis' internship duties involve helping manage Song Fa's social media platforms and coming up with different marketing ideas. He can even be seen in the #JustSwipeLah video presenting said ideas in a meeting and filming an employee for social media.

Now Dennis even gets an employee discount at the Song Fa restaurant he frequents.

"Do you think you are happy working in the marketing department?" Jernelle asked. "Do you like what you're doing?"

When Dennis agreed, she added: "Then will you think of job-hopping?"

Flabbergasted, Dennis said it was a "very difficult question to answer" and he had actually posed it to his radio station boss recently.

He continued: "My boss looked at me very seriously and said, 'Don't make this kind of joke'."

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EiAYR4PHpaM[/embed]

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drimac@asiaone.com

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