Quiet Strength, Lasting Impact
Honouring her grandmother’s legacy, NUS alumna Ms Low Hui Ping is empowering NUS College students to carry her values forward through financial aid.
(From left) NUS Alumni Student Advancement Committee member Mr Yeo Keng Joon, Ms Low Hui Ping and NUS President Professor Tan Eng Chye, at the Celebration of Love & Giving 2026 donor appreciation event.
This story is featured in the NUS Giving Report 2025/2025 - Future: Powered by Giving. Click here to read more Giving Report stories.
When NUS alumna Ms Low Hui Ping (Economics + USP ’08) thinks of her grandmother, she pictures the silent engine of the family. Widowed young, Mdm Wong Yoke Lin raised seven children with grit and love, believing that doing her best every day was the greatest form of dignity.
“She didn’t have much, but she gave everything,” recalled Ms Low.
Mdm Wong’s steely resolve shaped her granddaughter’s life and core values. “My grandmother’s life was a lesson in quiet generosity,” Ms Low shared. “She showed me that once you have enough to stand on your own two feet, you should use your strength to help others find their footing, too.”
This belief inspired Ms Low to make a gift in Mdm Wong’s name to inspire the next generation. The NUS College Alumni - Wong Yoke Lin Bursary will support students at NUS College (NUSC), ensuring that talent is never held back by financial circumstances.
In this way, Mdm Wong’s spirit will continue to quietly uplift students who are working hard to build their futures against the odds.
Creating Opportunities for All
Financial aid is a cause close to Ms Low’s heart. Raised in a household where money was always tight, she had attended NUS on a government scholarship. This opportunity would prove transformative far beyond the classroom.
Through the University Scholars Programme, she travelled beyond Asia for the first time, broadening her horizons and opening her eyes to a world waiting to be explored. Back home, the scholarship freed her to immerse herself fully in campus life. Without the weight of financial worry, she flourished. She was recognised as the top graduating student and awarded the Joanna Wong Medal for her academic excellence and commitment in co-curricular activities.
She has never forgotten what made that possible, and she wants the same for others. “I want to ensure that current students have that same level playing field to excel and launch their own global careers,” she said.
Bringing Diversity to the Classroom
As an honours college committed to providing a rigorous interdisciplinary curriculum, NUSC is an excellent environment for students from different backgrounds to flourish.
“Supporting financial aid is about ensuring that the interdisciplinary nature of the college isn’t just about subjects, but about people,” Ms Low explained. “When students from different walks of life sit together, the conversation changes for the better.”
To a student in need, the Bursary’s impact runs far deeper than dollars and cents. Ms Low said: “Financial aid isn’t just a cheque. It’s a vote of confidence. It tells a student that their potential matters more than their bank balance.”
That gesture of faith is what gives students the courage to reach further. “I hope this Bursary gives students the breathing room to dream bigger. I want them to have the freedom to travel, explore, and say yes to opportunities they might otherwise pass up due to costs,” she added.
Strength that Lives On
The NUS College Alumni - Wong Yoke Lin Bursary is a fitting tribute to everything Mdm Wong stood for. Thanks to Ms Low’s generosity, NUSC students today will honour Mdm Wong’s indomitable spirit and quiet strength through their own hard work and academic success.
If like Ms Low, you want to pay forward the care and generosity that others have given, you can make a gift today to support our NUS College students.
