'I took a different route': Bus enthusiast Matthew Tay graduates after giving up university to drive buses“我走了一条不同的路”：巴士爱好者Matthew Tay放弃大学学业成为巴士司机后顺利毕业
Much like the vehicle he admires, this bus enthusiast has reached his destination despite many setbacks along the way.Matthew Tay has graduated from RMIT University after having given up on university to pursue his passion for buses, he shared in a LinkedIn post on Saturday (Aug 29).Tay, 27, made headlines in 2024 after he reportedly achieved a near-perfect grade-point average...
Much like the vehicle he admires, this bus enthusiast has reached his destination despite many setbacks along the way.
Matthew Tay has graduated from RMIT University after having given up on university to pursue his passion for buses, he shared in a LinkedIn post on Saturday (Aug 29).
Tay, 27, made headlines in 2024 after he reportedly achieved a near-perfect grade-point average in polytechnic before turning down offers from three local universities.
Instead of furthering his studies, he decided to pursue a career with his topic of interest: buses.
He took up his first job at 22 as a bus driver for a private company, before becoming a bus interchange operator with Tower Transit, a choice he made for himself that sparked discussion online.
A bus interchange operator manages buses and captains.
"Some did support my decision, while others questioned if I had made the right choice," Tay wrote in his graduation post on Saturday.
While working with Tower Transit, Tay would wonder when the opportune moment to return to school would come.
He also revealed that a bus captain had approached him when he first joined, offering advice.
"Boy, what are you doing here? Go back to school! Stop wasting your time here," the bus captain had said, according to Tay.
The opportunity came when he was given a scholarship with Tower Transit, prompting him to go back to school after nearly five years away.
"I remember struggling with the workload at the start, but slowly found my footing," he recalled.
"Today, I'm graduating with a Bachelor of Business with Distinction, and I'm grateful to also receive a prize for being among the top three students in my cohort!"
Tay also addressed the bus captain that had spoken with him: "Thank you for your advice. I went back to school."
He added: "I took a different route, but I still made it to the destination."
khooyihang@asiaone.com
就像他所欣赏的那辆巴士一样，这位巴士爱好者克服了重重困难，最终到达了目的地。
Matthew Tay 在周六（8 月 29 日）的 LinkedIn 帖子中分享说，他已经从 RMIT 大学毕业，此前他放弃了大学学业，转而追求自己对巴士的热情。
27 岁的 Tay 在 2024 年成为新闻头条，据报道，他在理工学院取得了近乎完美的平均绩点，但拒绝了三所本地大学的录取通知书。
他没有继续深造，而是决定从事与自己感兴趣的领域——公共汽车——相关的职业。
他 22 岁时的第一份工作是在一家私营公司当公交车司机，之后成为 Tower Transit 的公交枢纽操作员，这是他自己做出的选择，并在网上引发了讨论。
公交枢纽运营商负责管理公交车和司机。
“有些人支持我的决定，而另一些人则质疑我是否做出了正确的选择，”Tay在周六的毕业帖子中写道。
在 Tower Transit 工作期间，Tay 常常会想，什么时候才是重返校园的合适时机。
他还透露，他刚入职时，一位公交车队长曾主动找到他，给他提供建议。
据泰回忆，公交车司机当时说：“小子，你在这里干什么？回学校去！别在这里浪费时间了。”
机会来了，他获得了 Tower Transit 的奖学金，这促使他在离开学校近五年后重返校园。
“我记得一开始工作量很大，很难应付，但慢慢地就适应了，”他回忆道。
“今天，我将以优异的成绩获得商业学士学位，同时我也很荣幸能获得奖项，成为我们班前三名学生之一！”
Tay还对和他交谈过的巴士司机说：“谢谢你的建议。我已经回学校了。”
他补充道：“我走了一条不同的路线，但我仍然到达了目的地。”
khooyihang@asiaone.com