When Sangeetha graduated five years ago, it was with tears of joy. She had just spent one year fighting Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, juggling her studies with chemotherapy. Losing her hair was upsetting at first, she recalls. “But with the love and support of my family, I got over that quickly and was just excited to rock a new pixie cut in future.”

Not only did she beat second-stage cancer, she landed a plum role at Shell Singapore right after graduating as a member of the pioneer University Scholars Programme cohort. “Back then, I believed in working really hard and letting new opportunities find me. The plan still is to just be happy!” she says.

“My job as an inspection engineer was daunting fresh out of university, but over the years, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the balance of hands-on and analytical work that I’ve been given,” she says.

“I also realised that all my NTU experiences, such as hall life and being part of clubs, developed my soft skills such as adaptability, leadership and organisational ability. I gained the confidence to lead major work events at Shell over the years. Being able to take charge and make decisions has given me the chance to break the glass ceiling. I’m quite proud to call myself a young female engineer,” she says.

In 2016, Sangeetha drew on the love, care and support of her family members and friends when cancer threw her a curveball. Things have barely changed for the 28-year-old, who got married early this year and deeply values the ties that bind.

“It has been happy chaos planning for a wedding, new home and everything in between. Working from home means not having to commute so I can spend more time with my husband. We made a pact to try a new recipe every day for dinner,” she laughs.

“The one downside to moving out is that I’ve missed my family so much. They are so precious to me and I always end the day by facetiming them for hours!”

This story was published in the Oct-Dec 2021 issue of HEY!. To read it and other stories from this issue in print, click here.