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Afdlin was the first in his family to make it to the Express stream, but things didn't go according to plan.

For Afdlin, life got in the way of his plans. He continues: “My auntie was also in visual merchandising…and my friends all said that it’s a very fun course.” Born in Kuala Lumpur as the youngest of five siblings, Lim was sent to Singapore at 13. "Focus on studies, excel in sports," he summarises. "It wasn't even a year," he tells me dryly. I ask — in all honesty, more to the MSF representative (who's sitting in for our interview) than anyone else. It was with this knowledge that he came to be mentored under CAMP. But he ended up being posted to one of his last choices: Leisure and Travel Operations. "To be honest, I didn't dream of, or even think of going to ITE. And my dad is from Normal (Academic)," he says. Right off the bat, he introduces himself as "18 this year, but still 17". It's a fun acronym that stands for "Career Advice and Mentoring Programme (CAMP)".