She couldn’t study what she wanted in Singapore

Growing up in Asia, and Singapore in particular, might feel stifling for some, such as Gabriella Yan. Aunties, uncles, and teachers are always telling you to go for a select few professions. Become a doctor, lawyer, or banker.  

But Yan wasn’t really into science and math. Rather, she was more into the arts, literature, and history.  

“I knew that that [the usual] career paths weren’t right for me. I guess I just wanted a career that was a little bit different from the usual career path that’s offered in Singapore,” she says.  

At 17, she left home to do just that at the University of Queensland in Australia.   

Opening her eyes up to opportunities beyond the island  

Subject of choice? Hospitality and tourism management, with the goal of getting into event management. 

“Since I was young, I’ve loved to plan all these little events, whether that’s a camping trip for my family, holidays for my family, or birthday parties for my friends,” she says.  

But studying that at a Singaporean university just wasn’t possible, at least not back then.  

“I’ve always been to the arts and I knew within Singapore if you wanted to study arts, there’s really very limited options,” she says. “So I think very early on in my teenage years, I already started looking outside for other educational opportunities.” 

But Australia offered such degrees. Yan even broadened her interest in the hospitality and tourism industry at large.  

“I was like, oh, okay. This is really fun and kind of fits into this whole narrative of me loving to travel as well,” she realised.  

Growing up, being advised to enter banking, law, and other conventional jobs, she never really thought about how she could build a career around travel. It was only by leaving home that she realised she could do that. Yan now had options. 

Yan currently works as a full-time founder of a sustainable travel startup, TRAppe. Source: Gabriella Yan

The benefits of studying in Australia: ‘What I’ve been taught all the way up until I was 18 was only one path’ 

Coming from Singapore, Yan knows she experienced a world-class education system that her peers in other countries can only envy from afar. Singapore is home to plenty of renowned universities, such as the National University of Singapore and Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, which are ranked 8 and 12 in the world respectively by the QS World University Rankings for 2025.  

But as much as she’s grateful for this, she recognises that it was very rigid.  

“You are in the education system in Singapore in order to find your place in society later on as an adult. So, the way that the education system is built is so that you have a purpose in society later on when you grow up,” she explains.  

In comparison, Australia’s approach is more individualistic. It’s much more about self-motivation and being responsible as a person. Singapore, Yan felt, still relied on some spoon feeding in its teaching. 

“Obviously, I didn’t go to university in Singapore, so I can’t really compare,” she adds.  

According to netizens, it does seem like a number of Singaporeans who choose to study abroad do it less because of the quality of education, but to broaden their worldview or prestige.   

Being dyslexic, Australia’s take on education also really benefited Yan. In her university, they recorded all the lectures so she could rewatch them any time and process it in her own way.  

Having had a positive experience as an international student, Yan used to push all her friends to leave Singapore as she did. 

“I honestly wouldn’t be where I am today if I didn’t have the experience of studying abroad,” she says.  

To Yan, university is a formative time that shapes who you are as a young adult and beyond. Experiencing a different culture and environment during that period can really help you develop your sense of self and your own take on the world.  

“I have had the most positive experience of stepping out of my usual comfort zone and to see what else is out there in life and it’s really made me understand the kind of opportunities there are for me as a person,” she says.  

“Whether it’s your career or your life path, you start to understand, okay, what I’ve been taught all the way up until I was 18 was only one path. So, I think everybody should somehow have that experience, even if it’s not really going abroad to study, but at least going for an exchange during your university years.” 

Yan studied in The University of Queensland from 2012 to 2014. Source: Gabriella Yan

Always hungry for more 

When Yan was a student in Australia, all she could think about was not leaving. She wanted to stay here as long as she could. 

“But I think once you start, once you start working in Australia, I think it’s a little bit of a different reality,” she says.  

While Yan appreciated Australia’s work-life balance, she was also a go-getter. Though she already held a good job with high pay straight out of university, she still had that Asian mentality that she needed to hustle. She wanted, or rather felt like she needed, to see what else was out there in the world.  

“I think just personally, I wanted so much more out of my life at that age. I wanted to go explore. I was young, I knew I had the energy to hustle, to do different things,” she reminisces.  

Although studying in Australia really opened up her mind, she was hungry to broaden her worldview even more elsewhere. This would take her to China, Vietnam, and Indonesia, where she’s now based.  

Having come here during the pandemic years, Yan is still working in Bali today. She’s now a full-time entrepreneur and the founder of TRAppe — a travel platform providing sustainable travel options in the form of hotels, restaurants, tours and experiences.