Jeff Lai (@playingwithpencil) has gained a following on social media by drawing strangers and gifting them with portraits. Encouraged by friends and the thrill of creating something beautiful, he honed his skills through YouTube tutorials and occasional art lessons. Impressed by his sketches, friends and relatives started to commission portraits, allowing him to earn some decent pocket money of around RM100 per artwork. Mr Lai kept up this side hustle even after enrolling in SP in 2015 to study optometry. By then, his family had emigrated here. “Why optometry? I wanted a field that was hands-on and allowed me to interact with a lot of people,” he explains. At the polytechnic, he continued to excel. Besides serving as president of the SP Lion and Dragon Dance Club, he earned several awards, including those for outstanding student, model student and the prestigious optometry gold medal.
Singapore Polytechnic
500 Dover Rd Singapore 139651