#CodingLabStudents: Lauren Yeo, 14, Methodist Girls' School, (IB) Programme
You've probably heard her lovely vocals either on television or at landmarks all over Singapore where she has performed as a soloist. Meet Lauren, the child music prodigy who, at the age of 9, sang at Carnegie Hall after winning 1st place at the American Protégé International Voice Competition in New York. Also a self-confessed Science nerd, and a member of her school Science Club and MENSA, Lauren is living proof that arts and science can go together. Here's a peek at Lauren's beautiful vocals with "Bring Him Home" - Les MiserablesWe caught up with our talented young student regarding her school life, the importance of persistence and hard work, and why she thinks coding is fun.Q: Tell us how you got started with coding. What challenges did you face when you first started?Lauren: I am a member of my school's Infocomm club where we get to learn about coding. The first few times I ran my code, there were always some errors somewhere. I had to keep correcting and fixing my code until it worked. It was frustrating, and I would say it feels kinda like you are getting through a tough Math problem. But I felt so relieved and happy when I got my code to work. I just feel so good when I see that it works.So this holiday, no matter how busy I was, I wanted to take some lessons because I really enjoy coding.
"I made my own quadratic equation solver that literally spews out all the answers to my Math homework."
Lauren, with her quadratic equation solver
Q:What do you like most about coding?Lauren: To me, coding is like talking with the computer. I also like that I can start with a blank canvas and I am free to create anything I want with it. Do you like video games? You could create your own games from Scratch. Do you like art? You could draw and create all sorts of pictures and tessellations with the computer. Coding could also be a platform to express your creativity. For me, I made my own quadratic equation solver that literally spews out all the answers to my Math homework.Lauren, with her quadratic equation solverI have to be really persistent, and I thank my coding tutor (Mona) for being so encouraging to me. Sometimes when I run my code, an error comes up. When I try to fix the problem, it opens up another problem. So I have to keep fixing and trying, over and over again until I finally get it right. In that way, coding tests my patience but coding is still super cool!9-year-old Lauren, singing "Music of the Night" at the Esplanade
"Coding is a skill that will always be relevant to anyone."
Q: How does it help you at school? Do you think it's a good skill to have?Lauren: Technology is getting more and more important. Even if you don't want to do something in the field of STEM in the future, practically every company has a technological component to it. So to me, coding is a skill that will always be relevant to anyone.For example, If I am trying to solve or accomplish a certain outcome with my code, I have to logically break down my thinking process, analyze it and then start writing my code. More often than not, the first time you run it, there will be an error somewhere. I will usually have to scan through my lines of code, detect the problems and then try to troubleshoot from there. This has trained me to solve problems creatively. Coding can also be used to help us in our everyday activities. I love to eat Oreos, so making my very own Oreo shopping cart to keep track of all the different types of Oreos I hope to buy was an amazing experience.Lauren is currently in Year 3 at Methodist Girls' School (Secondary), as a candidate for the International Baccalaureate (IB) programme. She is also a member of MENSA. Lauren attended the Python Meets Math class in 2017.