Chase the dream: Shawn Lim

Sports played a huge role in Shawn Lim’s childhood. While other boys were busy playing card games or toy figurines, the then 10-year-old would spend his time watching soccer on TV and comb through sports articles in the newspapers. Since then, his passion for journalism grew.

Just seven months into his job as a sports journalist, the 24-year-old was promoted to sub-editor of VOXSPORTS + Sunset Vine (Asia), an online publication for local sports in March this year.

Despite graduating with a technical diploma in events management at the old ITE College Central and a private diploma in communications at SMF Institute of Higher Learning, the sports journalist did not depend on those qualifications to snag the job.

Since 2009, the passionate journalist has been contributing articles to various publications as a freelancer and intern before working full-time in VOXSPORTS.

However, it has never been a smooth journey for him. Shawn recalled going for an interview with a boss that looked down on him, as he only had “basic” education qualifications.

“One of my interviewers gave me an hour long lecture to tell me why I did not qualify for the position,” he said.

Nevertheless, these incidents pushed him to work harder and to not throw in the towel. Shawn said: “I kept finding things to build up my portfolio, (as) the opportunities will come sooner or later.”

Initially, his parents were not fond of him working in this industry as they wanted their son to find a stable nine-to-five job.

Despite the lack of encouragement, the young journalist proved his parents wrong through the dedication seen in his articles. “They saw who I interviewed, what I wrote (and) started to understand (my work better),” said Shawn.

When asked about his most memorable interview, Shawn shared: “I have always watched Rafi Ali play live and on TV for for Singapore… This was my first time seeing him up close and talking to him. I was really starstruck and fumbled with my questions when I interviewed him.”

Even though Shawn advocates #LivingTheDream on his social media, clocking sufficient hours of sleep is often a luxury he cannot afford. “When I finish a report and sleep at around 3 to 4am, I really enjoy it because it’s not a chore to me,” said Shawn.

Currently, Shawn hopes to improve himself and enlarge his team of journalists to produce stories with a cutting edge. SEA Games 2015 will be his biggest sports event to cover. I could sense his excitement as he shared his thoughts on covering the major event.

“It is an honour to cover this year’s SEA Games! I was only two when Singapore hosted the SEA Games in 1993,” said Shawn.

To wrap things up, I asked Shawn to share a piece of advice for aspiring sports journalists. He hopes that youths will keep believing in and preserving their dreams, even if their goals seem far.

“(While) living the dream, there will be ups and downs. (Just be) ready to enjoy the good and bad times,” said Shawn.