SGT2 (V) Eugene Seah, 24, did not walk the path of ordinary undergraduates whose main focus is typically to first get a degree and then a job. In fact, at the young age of 13, Eugene has already set his mind on a career that fits his passion of helping others in need.
“It started back when I was in Secondary One. I went for a school uniformed group orientation programme and saw how cadets from the St. John’s Brigade were trained and were capable of saving lives during an emergency. That stirred my interest and burning desire to pursue a career of such nature,” said Eugene, who has been a Civil Defence Auxiliary Unit (CDAU) volunteer medic for five years.
Eugene’s commitment to be a lifesaver is indeed remarkable. During his full-time National Service in the Singapore Police Force, Eugene would commit some of his precious weekends to assist his juniors from the St John’s Brigade back in his secondary school. Currently, Eugene reports for his 12-hour shift duty at Bukit Batok Fire Station three times a month while pursuing his degree in the Bachelor of Science in Nursing at the National University of Singapore.
“Volunteering three times a month is fine with me as I still have time for my studies,” said Eugene when asked how he managed his time juggling between volunteer work and studies. “However, I would choose to prioritize most of my free time volunteering at the fire station instead of, for example, going out for drinks with my friends.”
Besides volunteering as a CDAU medic, recently Eugene has even become a trained volunteer firefighter after responding to a fatal road traffic accident which occurred in October last year. The accident involved a male driver whose car was badly smashed into barricades and a tree and killing a passenger beside him. The driver was taken conscious to a hospital after more than a dozen officers from SCDF’s elite Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team (DART) and firefighters extricated him from his mangled vehicle using hydraulic tools.
“This incident was memorable to me because after witnessing first-hand how SCDF officers raced against time and worked as a team to rescue the driver out of his car, I signed up to become a volunteer firefighter,” said Eugene.
Eugene will be starting his career as a staff nurse after graduating from the university. He believes that his early exposure to handling real-life medical emergencies would give him an added advantage to excel in his future career as a staff nurse. He not only aspires to save lives but to also be a leader in his field of work.
“I’m keeping my career options open for now. Perhaps after gaining some experience as a staff nurse, I may even consider applying to be an SCDF Rota Commander. If ever that becomes my role, I believe my experiences in the medical field as a staff nurse and a volunteer medic will greatly assist me to make critical life-saving decisions as a Rota Commander,” said Eugene when asked about his career aspirations.
However, for now, this promising young undergraduate is actively involved with The Life Saving Force as its volunteer CDAU medic.