While many secondary two students were hard at work studying for the streaming examination, Jonathan Cherian Samraj was busy developing websites. A self-confessed computer geek who can spend hours at a stretch just writing programs, Jonathan discovered his passion when he was given his first computer in Primary 4.

At the tender age of ten, he aspired to become the next Sim Wong Hoo. However, he remembers being just an average student with passable grades in secondary school. He felt lost and had no goals. Then, he was appointed as a Prefect in Secondary 2 and things started changing. With the added responsibilities and encouragement from his teachers and peers, Jonathan found his focus again.

At the age of 16, the budding technopreneur started his own IT company, which has since provided web solution and design services to 15 companies. Jonathan said his priority in running the business is not profits but networking opportunities and the chance to understand how different industries operate. He hopes to grow his company into a multi-national company specialising in IT security and solutions.

Jonathan believes that his formula for success is persistence and will power. Rushing to finish his final year project in time to represent Singapore at the Microsoft Imagine Cup in Korea, he slept only a few hours. He confessed: “That experience tested my resilience and will power and I was tempted to give up!”

Jonathan is not all business and books only. He has also been a Changi Youth Ambassador and doubled up as a publicity co-ordinator for the School of Media and Info-Communications Technology Club (SMIT).

Being affable and generous, Jonathan also hopes to benefit others with his ideas. He aspires to be like Tim Berners-Lee, a figure whom he admires deeply for almost single-handedly inventing the World Wide Web.

The former Victoria School student, who bagged the Model Student Award in his second year, scored 30 distinctions and As for his three-year course. He has been awarded the Low Guan Onn Gold Medal and endeavours to pursue a degree in Computer Science at the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

http://www.sp.edu.sg/graduation2008/inst/jonathan.html

From: OldVic in the previous OVA Forum