It was at the tender age of five that Millicent Wong started her LASALLE education – as a young student of dance at the old LASALLE campus on Goodman Road, where she met the College’s late founder, Brother Joseph McNally.
Millicent graduated today with a Diploma in Performance as the College’s top student and the recipient of its most prestigious honour, the McNally Award for Excellence in the Arts.
She joins the ranks of other illustrious Performing Arts alumni from LASALLE such as Kit Chan, one of Singapore’s best loved singers; actress Elena Wang, who has been cast in the Broadway premiere of the musical Allegiance with George Takei; and Natalie Hennedige, Artistic Director of Cake Theatrical Productions.
“I’m deeply grateful to LASALLE for the skills it has helped me to develop, for its patient and giving lecturers, and for teaching me to be comfortable with who I am,” said Millicent.
From her professional stage debut at the age of 10, when she was cast in the Australian tour of the classic musical Oliver! as a children’s ensemble member, the former St. Margaret’s Girls’ School student went on to number among the first batch in Singapore to study ‘O’ Level Drama in 2008.
She has since appeared in productions such as Aladdin (W!LD RICE) and was a lead character on MediaCorp Channel 5’s Stories of Love, in addition to voicing commercials and hosting live events on several occasions.
Attributing her success to her parents’ support, Millicent recalled that it was her mother, Mrs Sherrie Wong, who first enrolled her in piano and ballet as a child. Initially taken aback when her daughter expressed her determination to make performance her career, Sherrie is now completely on board with Millicent’s choice.
“We are happy that Millicent is chasing her passion for performance arts. Even as a little girl, she had a strong interest in singing, dancing and acting,” said Sherrie. “LASALLE has sharpened Millicent’s talent; kudos to all her teachers for guiding her,” she added.
Millicent was just one of many outstanding young talents graduating at LASALLE’s 29th Convocation, held at the Singapore Expo Convention and Exhibition Centre. Minister Grace Fu graced the occasion as the Guest of Honour.
747 graduates received their Diploma, Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts certificates today, across LASALLE’s comprehensive range of 31 programmes, from fine arts to design, film, animation, fashion, dance, music, theatre, arts management, art therapy, Asian art histories and more. Faculty Awards for Academic Excellence were also presented to 10 graduates who achieved the highest academic standing.
Looking ahead to the journey after graduation, Millicent shared that her first job after LASALLE was just days after her last semester ended, with the English National Ballet’s production of Le Corsaire in Singapore.
“Since then, I have been working nonstop,” added Millicent, who is currently in rehearsals with children's theatre company Paper Monkey and will appear in Beauty World by The Presenting Company at the end of the year.
“Our time here at LASALLE has come to an end, but we’ve only completed the tutorial to the game of Life,” said Millicent. “Bigger opportunities await.”
