2024 City Reading@SG Book sharing of "An Attitude of Gratitude"

Book sharing of "An Attitude of Gratitude"
Speaker: Mrs Tan-Soh Wai Lan (Author/ President of NAFA, Deputy Vice-Chancellor of University of the Arts Singapore)

Facilitator: Ms Cheleen Chua (Senior Teaching Fellow, Centre for English Communication, Singapore Management University)

Thankful for all the blessings – large and little – that have brought her to this point in her life, Wai Lan was moved to share her personal journey in a book that’s been more than a decade in the making.

She has always seemed destined for a life in education, from when she was a mere five, playing make-believe teacher to her dolls and stuffed toy ‘students’. She is a prodigious storyteller, and this book is an account of her formative years and beyond and the events and life experiences that have shaped her as a student, scholar, teacher, mother and school leader.

Beyond being a memoir of her days in school as a top student to being on the other side of the table – as an educator of distinction and the youngest principal in 2002 to her current role as NAFA president – each chapter provides an insight into how personal accountability and a spirit of gratitude have helped her become the person she is today. A must-read for any parent, and anyone who is preparing for a career in education or eager to make a difference in the complex world we live in.

Date: 1 Jun (Sat)
Time: 4:30-6:00pm 
Venue: Studio Theatre (NAFA Campus 3)

Event presented by Focus Publishing.


As a child, Tan-Soh Wai Lan did not grow up with much by way of material possessions but she was blessed with an insatiable thirst for knowledge, an active imagination and a fervent desire to make the best of the situation, whatever it might be.

Learning from all her schooling experiences, Wai Lan has gone on to do what she does best, in the process cementing a reputation as a humble yet inspiring and utterly effective educator who simply cares.

Her illustrious career has seen her become Vice-Principal of Ngee Ann Secondary School, Principal of Anderson Secondary School, and serendipitously enough, Principal of her beloved alma mater CHIJ St Nicholas Girls’ School.

She has also served in the Ministry of Education’s Higher Education Division, National Education Branch, Planning Division, Psychological Services Branch, Schools Division and Communications and Engagement Group. She is today the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA)’s President. With much sincerity and earnestness, Wai Lan shares her philosophies on life, parenting, and education and the values that have guided her. But most of all, this memoir is a clarion call on the importance of authenticity, integrity and gratitude.