By Asia Samachar | New Zealand |
Rasleen Kaur, a karate black belt and a saxophonist, has emerged as the top student in New Zealand for the Cambridge IGCSE Combined Science.
The achievement is all the more significant as she is just 14 and sat the examination as a Year 10 student. She is currently in Year 11 of her college at Auckland-based ACG Strathallan.
What’s next? She intends to complete A levels and then study medicine at university. She aspires to delve into the field of medical research.
Rasleen was born in Singapore where she completed her early years of studies. Her parents migrated from Malaysia to New Zealand.
Her father, Tervinderjit Singh N Gurnam Singh (also known as TJ Singh), comes from Kampung Pandan, Kuala Lumpur. The former vice president of research of global technology research and advisory company Gartner now runs his own consultancy in the business process services space. He also dabbles in investment on the side. TJ completed his MBA at University Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM).
Her mother, Shereendar Kaur T Bhagwan Singh, was formerly a practicing barrister called to both the Malaysian and New Zealand Bars. Now a full time investor, she is the founding partner of Auckland based STR Partnership. She completed her Master of Laws (LLM) at Victoria University of Wellington.
On her part, Rasleen has wide range of interests. When not studying, she could be found dabbling in martial arts, music or sports.
She has a Shodan (1st Dan Black belt) in karate. This she followed the footsteps of her maternal grandfather (Nana) Bhagwan Singh, a retired headmaster who is a Judo martial artist.
She is a keen saxophonist and jams weekly with her jazz band that competes in various regional and national competitions.
At the urging of her paternal grandmother (Dadi), Charanjeet Kaur, Rasleen has picked up the waja (harmonium) and recently began singing kirtan. The later she did at Kampung Pandan Gurdwara on her regular holidays trips to Malaysia.
In sports, she inherited her passion for hockey from her dad and plays left half. She represents her school and clubside teams.
When asked for her role model, she said Guru Hargobind Ji, the sixth Sikh Guru. Why? For the Guru’s role in revolutionising Sikh martial arts and pioneering the concept of “Miri” (temporal authority) and “Piri” (spiritual power) in Sikhism.
“And not forgetting my dedicated parents and grandparents for their constant guidance and support,” she said in an email to Asia Samachar.
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JPA scholar Harmeet Kaur pursues mechanical engineering in Japan. She shares her experience (Asia Samachar, 23 Dec 2021)
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