Ngee Ann Poly Grad Dennis Chew, 51, Offered Spot In NUS; On The Fence About Starting Uni This August

Just like that, Love 972 DJ Dennis Chew officially completed his journey at Ngee Ann Polytechnic (NP). 

Last week (May 2), the 51-year-old Mediacorp star was at the School of Humanities & Interdisciplinary Studies at NP to receive his diploma with his fellow course mates. Dennis, whom we all know achieved stellar grades at NP, graduated with a Pass with Merit.

The star's The Breakfast Quartet pals, Marcus Chin and Mark Lee, also showed up at the ceremony. Dennis' mum, on the other hand, was unable to be there as she was unwell. 

In an interview with Chinese media Lianhe Zaobao, Dennis revealed he's already been offered a spot in the National University of Singapore (NUS). However, he is still contemplating if he should start school this August. 

According to Dennis, all Chinese degrees at NUS are direct honours, which means he would need to spend another four years in school before getting his degree in the Department of Chinese Studies.

"When I was in poly, I incurred a lot of 'work debt' in my showbiz career. There are many people in the TV station waiting for me to 'repay my debt'," he laughed. "But I really wish to continue my education and will be discussing with the company to arrange this."

According to Dennis, he hasn't had a break in the past three years as he would be hosting his radio show whenever he didn't have classes. 

"For Mr Zhou's Ghost Stories [Dennis' supernatural ghost story series], I had to do live streams, but the company was very nice to me. In my second year, as my workload in school got heavier, they allowed me to pre-record some programmes," he said.

Dennis said he would be so sleep-deprived his teachers would tell him to go wash his face, eat a sweet or sniff some essential oils to stay awake in class. 

Despite that, Dennis graduated in the top 10 per cent of the academic year out of the 40-plus students in his cohort. 

When he received the email from NP informing him about his grades, Dennis said he burst into tears. 

"I cried until my mum thought someone died," he chuckled, adding that his father, who passed away in February, "must feel so comforted in heaven now". 

Dennis also looked back fondly on his experience, especially at the bonds he forged with his classmates who all refer to him as "dad".

"I've gotten really close with my classmates in the past three years, even their parents know me too. As we spent a lot of time together, I had to let their parents know what type of person I am. In the end we all became good friends," he recalled. 

He also said that he would miss the friends he made the most after graduation.

"Getting to interact with these young people after being in the industry for so long made me very happy. It's nothing like the complicated showbiz [scene]," said Dennis.

"It's because of them, my colours have faded away and I've turned back into a blank piece of paper. Being in army and going to school were the happiest days of my life so far," he added.

View Dennis' full post on Instagram below: