#LifeBeyondGrades (Part 1): Singapore’s Superwoman
Charmaine Seah is Singapore’s boldest entrepreneur
At NYLON Singapore
I first met Charmaine Seah when I interviewed her and her husband, Derek Ong, for NYLON Singapore. We were working as part of an Emporio Armani fragrance launch campaign, highlighting industry couples with admirable relationships.
At Elementary Co.
We met in person to conduct a photoshoot too. Charmaine and Derek’s office was located in the heart of the Lavender cafe neighbourhood. You don’t see the interior, but here’s a street view of them “having coffee” in their office:
Their office design was a tech startup wet dream—open concept, industrial furnishing, populated by a team who only used MacBooks. It was a tad bit messy, however; stocked with papers, as well as antique kids’ souvenirs, like toy dinosaurs and hardcover storybooks. Overall, it was a space that proclaimed, “Creative people work here!”
Moments after we arrived, the couple pulled over in a car which model I wish I remembered but I don’t. I was distracted by their #couplegoals #ootd; they were decked in almost head-to-toe Thom Browne.
Our Chat
They spoke in a Gwyneth Paltrow sort of way; in the same way parents successfully reassure their kids, “It was just a nightmare.” And there was synergy to the way they communicated. The whole interview felt like they were Ping-Ponging an idiosyncratic train of thought. It was pretty surreal.
For the piece I interviewed Charmaine and Derek for, I wrote that they had perfected a “three-way seesaw of work, career and family many can only aspire towards.” I stand corrected. I reckon they’re the kind of couple who complete each other sentences.
On Instagram
After chatting, they even agreed to take an extra photo for my Instagram. Plus points for friendliness!
Here are 3 “petty” social media details about them that made me love them even more. They (a) followed me back on Instagram within minutes (b) direct-messaged me afterwards about how they enjoyed working with me (c) still like my posts today, sometimes!
On PinkDot
Cut to: July, the night of Pink Dot:
I couldn’t help but reach out to Charmaine to extend my gratitude for her bravery, especially since, in my view, PAP has disowned the Singapore LGBTQ community. She was extremely gracious, but did not downplay her anger.
#respect
#LifeBeyondGrades
Cut to: a week ago, this popped up on my feed:
Read her full caption (don’t be lazy):
(Warning: this is a very long post, so bear with me)
218- that’s a number that I’ve not forgotten for the last 23 years. I felt nauseas when I opened my PSLE results slip, and was certain my parents would be furious. Instead they hugged me and told me they were proud of me for doing my best, which made me cry and even feel a bit worse because I didn’t think I deserved such love…
But it’s exactly that — their unwavering love and belief in me, their fuck-up of a Daughter (at least that’s what I thought I was in my teens), that made me all the more determined to make something of myself…
I worked through Polytechnic where I studied Design, finally did well enough to land a full-time job immediately after graduation, and spent the next 5 years working in production, when a chance meeting at the soon-to-be-opened, first IR in Singapore landed me a job offer. “Why would you work for a Casino? You don’t even gamble.” my then Boyfriend, now Husband asked. But I decided to take a chance on the unknown, and that leads us to this picture — my time at RWS, which was a defining point in my life.
Who would’ve thought that a person with barely any marketing experience and no degree would be on the marketing team that opened Universal Studios Singapore, and would get to work with her big childhood and film school heroes like Sesame Street, DreamWorks, Transformers or Steven Spielberg??
12 year old me certainly definitely didn’t think she’d get to NAME the world’s first Transformers ride, or help write the script to a TV commercial that Sesame Street characters would star in, or help transform an entire theme park for Halloween Horror Nights.
Neither did I think that one day, I’d be running a company that we built from nothing but our own blood, sweat and tears. But all that I did. But it’s because I refused to let that 2–1–8 define who I was, and what I was capable of achieving…
Without that failure, would have never come the determination to do better, be better. Every child develops at a different pace, and some children have talents beyond the classroom.
Life Beyond Grades wants parents to understand that not every child is destined for academic success, but those glaring red grades need not, and should not define who they are in life.
Success is not linear, and we all want what’s best for our children. But failure to pay attention to how much we’re pressuring them to succeed, chase those A’s, top their class.. it could severely backfire. And those rising youth suicide numbers are indicative of how pertinent this issue is.
I’m doing this for my babies — my two girls, my reasons for everything, but also for the rest of the babies out there, because every little life matters to me. I don’t get to spend as much time with my girls as I’d like cos of erratic work hours, but I will try my darnest to always listen to them, and be present for them through all of life’s highs & lows. I don’t know if they’ll be smart or good in sports, if they’ll become entertainers (tho they certainly are amusing now!), or be great Counselors. But I’ll remember the lessons my parents taught me, and raise them to be caring & kind, thoughtful and independent.
I know I’ve been rambling on, but I still have so many things about this topic I want to say and I’d love to engage with any of you who are interested and have opinions to share. I know that we at @lifebeyondgrades DON’T have all the answers, but if we as a community come together to talk, share ideas/ opinions/ solutions, I’m sure we’ll be able to figure this out together.
We’d also love to hear about your PSLE scores and stories. So break the taboo and help us spread the message than we are all worth #morethananumber, and that there is #LifeBeyondGrades. (I’ve tagged some of you people who inspire me in this post, & hopefully you’ll be willing to share!)
Thank you for reading. ❤️
Since, #lifebeyondgrades has made its way to national headlines, sparked considerable user generated content, even become a #meme:
