David Hawkes, ISS Alumnus (UK)

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I was a student of ISS for 4 years, and graduated in 2000.

What do I remember the most about ISS? Music, Music, and more Music. I met some of the most talented people from all over the world in ISS and when we didn’t have to go to school, we spent most of our time jamming. I’m sure we were terrible but it holds some really good memories for me. Most of us are still involved some way or another in a music scene, somewhere. Also, playing football took up a large amount of our spare time too.

Honestly though, the most memorable part of ISS were the people. I’m happy that many of them are still my close friends now. In fact I’m married to a girl I met in ISS so it was a rather influential part of my life!

I moved to Singapore at 14 having spent my childhood in a small town in the UK. To have the opportunity to meet and understand people from all over the world has benefited me enormously. I didn’t go to university as all I wanted to do was fly aeroplanes or become a rock star, whichever happened first, so having that multicultural background really helped in giving me the confidence in getting myself into the market and finding a sponsorship for my flight training and that important first job. Now that I’m older, I wish I had gone to university, but I’m not complaining! The teachers we had in ISS really engaged with us and treated us like adults, so that helped in giving me the people skills to succeed.

I am now a Pilot in a Singapore airline. My grandfather was a Pilot, my father was a Pilot and so it was something that was in my bones. I can’t remember a time when I didn’t want to be a Pilot, so I’m lucky to have achieved that. Having a clear goal in mind and ready-made mentors really helped.