Tan Ching Yee was a Ministry of Education (MOE) Teaching Award scholar and she subsequently earned her Bachelor of Arts Honours degree (Second Upper) from the National University of Singapore (NUS), majoring in Chinese Studies and Chinese Language. She was awarded the Special Book Prize (Chinese Language) for best student in Chinese Studies. She then went on to obtain her Postgraduate Diploma in Education (Secondary) from the National Institute of Education (NIE).
Prior to joining SOTA, Ching Yee has taught in Crescent Girls’ School since 2004. Besides being the level coordinator, she was also the teacher and coordinator for the Chinese Special Program, teaching Chinese to non-Chinese students. She then went on to coordinate the Conversational Chinese Program between Secondary and Primary schools, while participating in the design of teaching materials with the Ministry of Education (MOE) CPDD Working Group Committee for this programme. She was also involved in the School Twinning Programme with several schools in China and India.
She has a crucial role in setting up Photographic Society as a Co-Curricular Activity (CCA) in school. Within 3 years, she has built a firm foundation for the CCA, grooming award-winning members in cluster schools and national photography competitions.
To pursue her other passion in Photography, she joined SOTA as an Adjunct Chinese teacher since 2008 while practicing as a freelance photographer and photography instructor. Her works have since been exhibited at various national and international photography exhibitions and festivals.
With a keen interest in art, she has been involved in various art activities. In Crescent Girls’ School, she was the editor and layout designer of the School Magazine Committee. She participated in a Teacher Work Attachment at the Mint Museum of Toys during the school holidays and helped the museum to come up with a Secondary Educational Guide booklet for their educational tours. She has also volunteered with Art Outreach as a teacher for Art Appreciation at Primary schools, with Singapore Biennale in their Kids Biennale programme, and with the Month of Photography Asia as an artist assistant.
Ching Yee is also interested in international cultural exchange. She was the Vice-President of a cultural club Youth Developer Group in her varsity years, organizing numerous arts and social events to promote international youth exchange. Later in NIE, she joined the Youth Expedition Programme (YEP) for environmental community work in North Sikkim.