Singapore — Apparently what the country’s top marathoner does when he’s bored is, apply and get accepted – to a prestigious law school in London, which is exactly what Soh Rui Yong has done.
The award-winning runner provided a “Life update” in a Facebook post on Tuesday (Oct 26), writing that he has so far “survived 5 weeks of classes, so I guess it’s time to make this official now.”
He wrote that his decision to apply to University College London (UCL)’s law school had been made because he “was getting really bored some time back with COVID-19 bringing life to a grinding halt,” doing so “for the heck of it.”
“I was interested in studying law back in my Raffles JC days, but seniors in National University of Singapore (NUS) Law told me that if I wanted to do well in sports, NUS Law probably wasn’t a good fit (lots of work and little sleep, apparently),” he added.
He wrote it’s been five years since he was in school, and at the time of his application, was almost 30 years old.
“Frankly, I didn’t think UCL, ranked 6th in the world by Times Higher Education, would give me the time of day,” wrote Mr Soh, before proceeding to add that aside from his credentials, he submitted an “impassioned personal statement about how law can and should be a pillar of justice in society, but is sometimes abused by the rich and powerful to bend the less privileged to their will.”
And then he went on with life.
Mr Soh posted the letter of acceptance he received from UCL, calling it a “pleasant surprise,” but confessing that he “didn’t really know what to do,” considering that he was older than the other students, and wondering if he could do the arduous work of pursuing a law degree.
“This is a top course of study at a top university and is never going to be easy. Did I really want this?
I thought about it for a long time over many miles of running. At the end of the day, I decided to chase the dream.”
He acknowledged that with his day job at TheSmartLocal.com and marathon training, studying law will not be easy.
However, “that vision of being a lawyer and defending the underprivileged, oppressed, and unrepresented in the future when I do retire from running excited me enough to begin this journey.”
The runner added that he is inspired by high-profile lawyer Eugene Thuraisingam and his team.
For now, his classes are online due to the pandemic and present commitments but has been “attending lectures and tutorials in Contract Law, Property Law, Public Law and Criminal Law,” and when he has trouble falling asleep reads the Public Law textbook.
He shared this “Life update” to inspire others to pursue dreams they once had.
“I put aside law for running when I was 18. Funnily enough, the money I make as a professional athlete will now help pay for law school fees. Perhaps this is a journey that’s come full circle.
I’m excited for the future,” wrote the runner. /TISG
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Marathoner Soh Rui Yong crowdfunds S$180,000, says, “Help Me Win This Case”