Budding newsroom talent awarded SPH Media journalism scholarships

As a 17-year-old Raffles Institution student, Stacey Ngiam used to sit in her school field and look at the SPH Media building across the highway.

- Emerald Lo

As an avid listener of UFM100.3, a Chinese-language SPH Radio station, Ms Ngiam was inspired by the station's ability to connect with its listeners and hoped to make the same impact with her future career.

"At that time, many of my friends were going into law and medicine. I wanted to pursue something different, such as media and journalism.

"I am also passionate about sharing people's stories, and SPH is a very good space to kick-start that journey," she said.

In 2025, Ms Ngiam, now 20, joined SPH as a radio programming intern at UFM100.3 after her A levels.

After a few months, she made the leap to journalism at The Straits Times, drawn by her interest in speaking to people and hearing their life stories.

She was assigned to the courts and crime cluster but was given leeway to explore her own interests in her two months in the newsroom.

"I am very thankful my supervisors Andre and Amelia pushed me to write a story about private candidates taking their A levels," said Ms Ngiam, who was one of the two recipients of the SPH Media journalism scholarship in 2025 at a ceremony at the SPH News Centre on Aug 1.

She will pursue an undergraduate degree in communications studies at NTU in August.

SPH Media's journalism scholarships provide full tuition, a monthly allowance and practical experience through internship opportunities.